Producers will need to be familiar with how roles need to change to keep up with new technologies and market demands for sustainable production. Some positions like accounting, transport, production management and art direction are already seeing the demand for green skills. Transitioning our workforce is a key part of how we build a net-zero industry.
Evaluate which positions will have the most contact with emitting activities or have influence over your sustainability goals. Support climate champions with training and gaining the skills they need to be successful. As the industry accelerates sustainability efforts, supporting those in the entertainment workforce who want to gain sustainability skills, or sustainability professionals who want to transition into the entertainment industry, will be a key strategy to moving the industry forward.
We’ve compiled a non-exhaustive list of the most relevant courses for our industry. If you come across some great training and want to include it, let us know at info@producingfortheplanet.com.
CBC/Radio-Canada
Free, Online
This virtual series brings together organizations from across the industry to introduce you to topics related to the business and financing of film, TV and original digital content. Producers can earn a certificate of completion for watching all of season 1. Season 1 and Season 3 contain various episodes dedicated to green production.
Free, Online
Seeds of Change is an in-person / virtual event series that explores various sustainability initiatives throughout the industry.
Ontario Green Screen
Climate & Sustainable Production Training
Free, Online, 3 hours
Climate & Sustainable Production Education is an essential step towards environmental stewardship. Ontario Green Screen has redesigned their Climate and Sustainable Production training to offer all film workers in Ontario free, live-facilitated training or, self directed asynchronous training to allow you to learn at your own pace. C&SP provides the tactical hands-on training, and demonstrates how everyone can take action in production to help reduce their environmental impact.
Carbon Calculation Fundamentals
Free, Online
This redesigned course on carbon calculation fundamentals will be coming in May 2024.
DGC Ontario
Free for DGC Ontario members, Online, 2 hours
In DGC Ontario’s new Sustainability Fundamentals workshop, you will be a part of imagining a green future for the film and TV industry. Learn basic sustainability topics as they relate to the industry, and set out a clear path to starting green initiatives at your organization. Topics include circular economy thinking, waste diversion, recycling/compost, calculating carbon footprints and offsets, and overcoming common barriers to sustainability in film and TV. It will also include a case study, interactive discussions and a breakout room activity.
Reel Green™ from CreativeBC
Sustainable Production Training
Free, Online, 2 hours
Learn how motion picture production contributes to climate change and how to adopt best practices to reduce the environmental impact of production. This course offers a unique, engaging and solutions-based training session offering attendees the information and inspiration to live and work in a more sustainable way.
Free, Online, 1 hour
Based on the industry’s leading carbon calculators, albert, Reel Green™ has adapted a carbon calculator for British Columbia, for free, for productions in B.C. to use. Calculating the carbon footprint of your production is an important step in understanding the impact of film production. Having consistent data and metrics from the industry can help organizations like Reel Green understand priority areas for sustainable practices as well as help productions understand and measure their carbon impact.
SME Climate Hub
Free. Online.
7 x 30 min modules
Climate Fit is a free online training course to help SMEs reduce their carbon emissions and join the collective race to net zero.
Transition to Electric Vehicles - Film Industry (45 minutes)
This Action Course is designed for industry stakeholders interested in transitioning their businesses to electric vehicles.
Clean Mobile Power Solutions – Film Industry (Coming Soon)
BAFTA albert
Free, Online
Sustainable Production Workshop is aimed at every level in the production team.Our training helps industry colleagues work sustainably through an optimistic, science-based, solution-centric introduction to the environmental challenges we face.
Sustainable Documentary Film Training is aimed at filmmakers creating feature length documentary films. It provides the knowledge to produce your film in a more sustainable way, including introduction to albert certification, high carbon emitters on your production, solutions across your production, documentary film case studies, and sustainability on screen.
Sustainable Short Film Training is aimed at filmmakers creating live action, fictional shorts. It provides the knowledge to produce your film in a more sustainable way, including high carbon emitters on your production, solutions across your production, short film case studies, and sustainability on screen.
Editorial Training supports TV content creatives in taking an authentic, inventive and optimistic approach to communicating climate change. This 2-hour session is an opportunity for all those in the TV industry to explore how to use authenticity and creativity to create content that supports the transition to an environmentally sustainable society, relevant across all genres.
Screen Skills
Introduction to Sustainability for the Screen Industries
Free. Online. 35 minutes
This is recommended for anyone who is currently working, or thinking of working, in the UK screen industries, in particular film and TV.
Creative Climate Leadership (CCL)
Facilitated by Julie’s Bicycle
In person, 5-day course
Link: https://www.creativeclimateleadership.com/apply/
Creative Climate Leadership is an international training and transformation program to empower artists and cultural professionals to take action on the climate and ecological crisis with impact, creativity, and resilience. The five-day intensive course enables participants to apply environmental frameworks and targets meaningfully to their work, and explore what leadership means in the context of a rapidly changing world. The course includes a free alumni network, access to grants and mentoring, policy labs and conferences, and ongoing support.
BC Information Technology - ESG Fundamentals Microcredential
5 x 3-hour workshops
This ESG Fundamentals microcredential provides participants with an opportunity to investigate environmental, social, and governance impacts and develop a strategy to act on your values. Top talent is choosing careers that enable alignment between personal values and professional aspirations. The ESG Fundamentals Microcredential is designed to grow the community of understand the ESG impact areas, can meaningfully engage relevant stakeholders to ensure actions are inclusive and evidence-based, and are equipped to act now to maximize the positive and minimize the negative ESG impacts at organizations of all sizes.
Cambridge Institute of Sustainability
Business Sustainability Management
Online, 8 weeks, 8-12 hours/week
Price: approx $4,000 CAD
This course is designed to address the growing need and prevalence of sustainability practices in business – giving you the tools to pioneer meaningful change throughout your organization. This fully tutored and supported course is offered online for convenience and flexibility. This personalized, people-mediated approach has resulted in a 90 per cent certification rate. Using relevant and practical case studies, you’ll gain insights from world-leading experts in the field, and thought leaders in sustainability.
Sustainable Marketing, Media, and Creative
Online, 8 weeks, 8-10 hours/week
Price: approx $4,000 CAD
This online short course equips you with skills and strategies to re-align the purpose of marketing, media and creative to support long-term wellbeing for all people and planet. Over eight weeks, you’ll learn how to inspire and reignite the potential for brands and creative roles to enable positive change. You’ll also gain a heightened awareness of both marketing’s physical impact on people and the environment and its capacity to influence human behaviours and identities, and engage in challenging discussions on issues such as growth, greenwashing and consumption.
UBC Law School
Micro-Certificate Program in Climate Risk and ESG for Corporate Governance and Decision-making
Online, 8 weeks, 5-7 hours/week
Price: $3,300 (discounts available for Allard Alumni, Indigenous Peoples, and groups larger than 4)
This program offers practical and hands-on training for professionals, including those currently working and those seeking to gain additional skills to better their employment opportunities and keep up with the market trends. Developed collaboratively by the Canada Climate Law Initiative and UBC, it provides a unique perspective that comes from collaboration and knowledge exchange between academics, policymakers, and business professionals.
