The Commission's dialogue with stakeholders on the greening of the AV sector in June 2021 culminated in a common statement released in February 2022. This statement advocated the adoption of a standardised methodology for measuring carbon emissions. The Commission has now taken a significant step forward by procuring, through a competitive tender, the development of a calculator to assess the carbon footprint of audiovisual works.
The project has been entrusted to a consortium, with the leader Seriotec, a German company specialised in cloud-based applications such as the production hub Yamdu, alongside KlimAktiv, expert on systems for calculating the carbon footprint, and green film expert Philip Gassmann.
The project will run from January 2024 until December 2027 (48 months) and has an estimated budget of €650.000 from the MEDIA strand of Creative Europe programme.
What to expect from this project?
The project will deliver a common calculation methodology and a user-friendly web application that all producers across the EU 27 Member States can use to calculate the carbon footprint of their audiovisual productions. The application will complement existing and emerging calculators through a common API and data exchange. The common calculator, however, will not replace national calculators where deeper measurements might be required. Importantly, this tool will be accessible free of charge to users. The tool will be particularly useful for producers of films and TV series, audiovisual sustainability officers, crew members in charge of carbon measurement, as well as film funds, in particular for European co-productions.
The tool will be aligned with the European Commission’s Recommendation on the use of Environmental Footprint methods adopted by the Commission in December 2021.
Key benefits of the European carbon calculator?
- Data exchange and comparability: Facilitates seamless data exchange and comparability across Member States and between existing calculators by identifying minimum common parameters and carbon emissions factors.
- Easy adoption: Designed for both beginners and advanced users, ensuring easy uptake for those new to carbon footprint measurement while remaining compatible with existing calculators for experienced users.
- User-centric approach: The tool provides a user-friendly interface to calculate, monitor, and ultimately reduce the carbon footprint of AV productions.
- Informing policy decisions: Offers tangible information to improve policymaking at the European level, contributing to the ongoing greening efforts within the audiovisual sector.