Sustainable filming in Valencia

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was signed in 2015 by the Heads of State and Government of the United Nations member countries. It represents the international commitment to tackle the social, economic, and environmental challenges of globalization, placing people, the planet, prosperity, and peace at the center, under the motto of "leaving no one behind." The 17 established sustainable development goals are universal and intended to be deeply transformative. They address the roots of poverty, inequality, and the degradation of the planet. From Valencia Film Office, we want to contribute to them by offering some proposals to encourage sustainable filming that is more respectful of both the environment around us and social well-being.

Audiovisual content and providers

Develop and implement measures or messages aimed at promoting local culture and products during filming. Work with reusable sets, create local jobs, and make a constant effort to innovate whenever it involves incorporating sustainability measures.

Audiovisual content

Contribute to social well-being by launching gender equality messages in your productions and sharing them through social media or other communication channels. Strive for gender equality in hiring, salaries, and all aspects where inequalities may arise.

Implement best practices in water use

Water is a scarce and costly resource. Reduce consumption by using it efficiently, avoiding individual bottled water, and providing reusable bottles or cups along with water dispensers. Also, check if there is running water near the film set; in Valencia, it is of high quality and efficiently managed with the highest efficiency rate in Europe, 87%. The best way to reduce carbon and water footprints is to use running water. Protect natural resources.

Use electrical energy efficiently

Reduce energy consumption by implementing efficiency measures such as turning off lights when not needed, avoiding standby mode on electrical devices, and unplugging chargers after use. Use efficient power generators and Class A appliances. Use LED and low-energy light bulbs. Charge your walkies with solar energy. Minimize the use of air conditioning as much as possible.

Audiovisual content

Contribute to well-being by launching "green" messages and values in your projects. Show environmentally responsible behavior through your characters or protagonists: recycling, drinking from reusable bottles. Implement sustainability measures in your audiovisual productions and communicate them to your teams through informative posters, announcements in call sheets, and achieved ecological milestones. At the end of the production, evaluate the environmental results obtained and share them with the team. Communicate the measures you adopt to make your filming more sustainable and spread the results on social media.

Health measures

Ensure that all health measures dictated by the relevant authorities at any given time are followed on the film sets.

Protect locations and their socio-environmental surroundings

Minimize the potential impacts of your shoot on a location by delimiting and signposting occupation zones and identifying and protecting nearby plants, trees, archaeological sites, or any other natural or heritage resource. Minimize noise and avoid light pollution, especially in outdoor locations. Anticipate potential disturbances to citizens by establishing communication channels with town halls, neighborhood associations, etc., and promote local employment and the inclusion of disadvantaged groups. Leave the location as it was.

Green runner

Define sustainability roles within the work team or hire a Green Runner or an Eco Manager to carry out environmental monitoring of the production. Design an environmental monitoring plan that includes checklists, a system of evaluation indicators, or the calculation of the carbon footprint. If it is a protected natural area, coordinate these actions with its management body. Offset emissions produced directly or through local associations, foundations, or companies.

Providers

Choose local or green providers who supply their services and products with zero or minimal impact on the environment. Sustainable catering, renewable energy, eco office supplies, etc. Select products with responsibility certificates. Reduce the use of paper and printing. Implement electronic means for production plans, calls, and scripts.

Team

Raise awareness within the team, appoint a Green Runner or ECO Manager to organize and coordinate measures. Create motivating initiatives such as rewarding the "green" person or department of the shoot.

Catering

Hire a local catering service near the location. Promote the hiring of a catering service that encourages the purchase of local and seasonal products, uses biodegradable or reusable tableware and cutlery, and avoids disposable resources.

Responsible location scouting

When selecting production locations, try to choose as few as possible and ensure they are close to each other. Get informed about the environmental characteristics and regulations of the locations and consider the environmental effects your production could imply. Optimize the travel of the teams.

Labor regulations

Comply strictly with labor agreements, conventions, and other existing regulations regarding hiring.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle

Incorporate these values into all your film projects. Implement measures aimed at reducing, reusing, separating, and recycling waste such as paper, glass, or plastic. Avoid purchasing disposable products, promote the reuse of materials, plan the volume, type, and number of containers, as well as their distribution at the location to encourage separation. Donate art department materials to another production and reuse or donate costumes. Use FSC-certified wood for set construction.

Offset

Offset your carbon footprint, either by carrying out a reforestation project at the main filming location or by asking the environmental department or an NGO about available solutions to compensate for the footprint generated.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle

Incorporate these values into all your film projects. Implement measures aimed at reducing, reusing, separating, and recycling waste such as paper, glass, or plastic to prevent them from ending up in the sea. Plan the volume, type, and number of containers as well as their distribution at the location to encourage separation.

Offset

Offset your carbon footprint by asking the environmental or marine life department or an NGO about solutions to compensate for the footprint generated. There are projects in both the Oceanogràfic and the Devesa-Albufera.

Accommodation

Choose hotels or accommodation near the main filming location. Give preference to sustainable hotels with a specific environmental policy or those that calculate their carbon footprint.

Transport

Whenever possible, choose electric or hybrid transport, and organize the team to share transportation by choosing high-capacity vehicles. Likewise, organize routes efficiently. Encourage the use of bicycles. Prioritize the use of trains over planes.

This decalogue is based on the 17 sustainable development goals to transform our world, proposed by the United Nations, and on the sustainable proposals for audiovisual production suggested by national organizations such as Tenerife Film Commission, Málaga Film Office, Promálaga, APPA, the APCP, and the Spanish Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences. From Valencia Film Office, we join this challenge, thus contributing to the care and transformation of the planet.