Media emissions

The greenhouse gas impact of audio-visual media falls into three principal areas: transport, energy, and waste. 

In terms of emissions, transport accounts for approximately 50% of the total: primarily moving people (cast/crew) and freight (filming equipment, sets) for the production of assorted programmes. Energy, comprised of electricity and gas consumption, comes next, driven by corporate operations, studio power, production offices, and the use of diesel generators on location. Of course this ignores the energy required to power the infrastructure required to distribute the content – that’s a whole other paper in itself – and the devices needed to consume it.

Finally, there is waste. Production can be a notoriously “disposable” process: sets and materials are often designed and created for specific projects, before being taken down and thrown away once filming ends. For print media, there is the additional factor of newspapers and magazines, whose production requires millions of trees to be felled while mass distribution consumes significant energy. Inevitably, waste is ubiquitous. Although sales of physical titles may be in long term decline, online media outlets also create their own carbon footprint.