More than 100 professionals from across the travel, sustainability and entertainment sectors gathered at The Kia Oval, London, on 29 October for our inaugural Sustainable Production Travel Summit.
Hosted by our Entertainment & Media division, the one-day collaborative forum brought together production leaders, sustainability specialists and travel partners to explore practical solutions to accelerate the transition to lower-carbon production travel.
Recent industry research from BAFTA Albert, the environmental sustainability body for the screen industry, found travel and transport accounted for 65% of film and TV’s production emissions. This is why it’s such a key priority for production companies seeking to meet ambitious sustainability targets.
The power of responsible partnerships
The morning opened with supplier networking, from showcasing electric vehicle technology and charging infrastructure to discussing the unique challenges of production travel with global hotel groups.
The Entertainment & Media team's Joanne Hopwood and James Langton led the ‘Power of Partnership’ presentation to discuss their responsible supply chain. They were joined on stage by Greengage, who provide sustainability certification for our hotels and venues partners, and emission reporting leaders Thrust Carbon, both of which help our customers make eco-conscious travel choices.
Guest speakers from the media sector
The delegates heard from Cherique Pohl, Founder & Director of Impact Wild, who shared examples of powerful storytelling to drive positive environmental change to local communities in Tanzania and Wales. Cherique challenged attendees to consider how sustainability can be embedded throughout the production lifecycle: “Impact strategies don’t always have films as part of the strategy, but Impact Wild has produced the eco-system of change." she said.
After a healthy ‘plant-forward’ lunch Lime Venues are famous for, delegates heard from:
- Charly Conquest, Responsible Productions Lead at Sky
- Mandy Cayford, Head of Sustainability & Business Development at Leverage Point Entertainment
- Karl Quigley, National Accounts Manager at IDE Systems
- Alexandra de Valera, Founder of Ecoscope Ltd
Kirsty Given, Director of Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability at Portman Travel Group, moderated the panel on how to advance lower-carbon transport solutions and create positive cultural change. The panellists discussed the industry's most significant challenges, such as earlier involvement at pre-production stage and the importance of data.
Tracey Schawsmidth, Production Executive, Sustainability Manager and founder of Black Production Management UK (BPM UK), combined her love of James Bond with her perspective on building a more sustainable screen industry in a humours presentation on inclusion and long-term resilience.
Knowledge-sharing workshops drive meaningful change
Delegates joined suppliers and our experts in interactive work shops to inspire and encourage greater collaboration across the sector by learning from those already making a difference, rethinking what’s possible and sharing ideas that can be turned into practical and meaningful action.
The day accumulated with a pledge wall, following by further music and networking.
“It meant so much to see so many people from across the production world in one room for a shared purpose. It really shows commitment and investment in our industry. By bringing the right people together to have the right conversations, we believe we have taken huge strides in creating something that will make a real difference,” explained Lucy Goldston, Director of Operations in our Entertainment and Media division.
“Our ambition is to help lead the way in sustainable production travel, working hand in hand with the production community to challenge how things are done, develop new ideas and build solutions that genuinely work for the realities of production,” said James Langton, Director of Sales & Account Management in our Entertainment and Media division.
“Because we know production travel comes with unique challenges, we need solutions that recognise those realities, support production teams and make more sustainable choices achievable, not just aspirational. The summit represents a huge milestone for us and the opportunity for all of us to move forward together.”
