Australian Film Industry

Working with several Australian directors, producers and film companies, Beyond Neutral completed the first full carbon footprint case study of an Australian feature film

My Year Without Sex
Directed by Sarah Watt and Produced by Bridget Ikin
starring Sasha Horler and Matt Day
released in 2009

This came about as Australian Director, Robert Connelly, his company Arenafilm and Beyond Neutral were exploring ways to effectively, efficiently and sustainably reduce Australian films’ carbon footprint

The film’s Producer, Bridget Ikin and Hibiscus Films (My Year Without Sex’s parent production company) wanted to reduce the film’s carbon footprint and improve its sustainability

Engaged as their climate change and sustainability consultant, we helped the film reduce its carbon footprint and other environmental impacts while improving overall sustainability

Beyond Neutral helped them achieve their goals, satisfying their desire to be part of a holistic solution to the twin imperatives

A case study was produced to support their claims and to assist future initiatives within the film industry
(synopsis is provided here)

What We Did

We were engaged to provide the production with advice on

• sustainability
• carbon accounting
• emissions management and reduction
• quality carbon offsets

We provided the full range of our climate consulting services to

• develop the film’s footprint
• provide advice on mitigation options they could take
• provide carbon offsets which were used to offset more than the film’s identified footprint

Awareness Raising

A goal of the process was to reduce the film’s carbon footprint and environmental impacts as well as improve its sustainability.  To do this we worked with the people involved in making the film

• to raise their awareness of key issues
• to encourage them to rethink how they did things to gain an improvements in carbon and environmental management
• to guide them in undertaking important changes to their procedures and practices where possible

Case Study

A case study was produced (synopsis is provided here), examining

• how and why the footprint was calculated
• what was found
• the problems encountered
• the key issues and areas for future action by individual films and the wider film industry

Following the detailed analysis of the film’s carbon footprint, quality Gold Standard carbon offsets were purchased and retired

The offsets came from an accredited project combining renewable energy with sustainable development

Carbon Offsets and Sustainability Dividend

Selecting carbon offsets from our portfolio of carbon offsets allowed the film to choose a project addressing the twin imperatives of climate change and sustainability

Additionally, a sizeable contribution was made to an indigenous cultural/ social sustainability program

Recognition

The film was awarded the Australian Directors Guild’s GRASS (Getting Real About Sustainable Screens) award for a feature film

This project contributed to the awarding of CEnvP of the Year to Beyond Neutral’s Director

Contact us if you would like to discuss this project – especially if you are thinking of how you can apply this to your next project.