Bafta albert Webinar: Net Zero and the Economics of Broadcasting
Following the 2019 amendments to the Climate Change Act, Great Britain is the first country to adopt the target of net-zero emissions by 2050. On 17th June, Bafta albert brought together industry experts to discuss the risks and opportunities facing the television industry on the journey to net-zero.
Tricia Duffy – Strategic Advisor, albert (Moderator)
Richard Carmichael – Research Associate, Imperial College
Ciara Kalmus – Economic Director, Ofcom
Katherine Lampen – Partner, Deloitte – Sustainability and Climate Change Lead
Introduced by Dr Laurence Sargent Director of Sargent-Disc, and featuring insights from Sir Peter Bazalgette.
Dr Laurence Sargent introduced the session, stressing that climate change could be just as catastrophic as Covid-19. He commented that it is more important than ever for productions and companies to make use of paperless tools, and that Sargent-Disc, with Cast & Crew, can streamline this process with products within the Digital Production Office®.
Tricia Duffy took over from Laurence, setting the scene with powerful graphics highlighting the state of the Earth should the global temperature increase by 3.5 degrees Celsius; with many areas uninhabitable. Tricia then spoke with Sir Peter Bazalgette, during which he shared some of ITV’s measures being put in place; including the introduction of a green team steering group with the remit to ensure their respective departments deliver on environmental targets.
The seminar continued with Katherine Lampen speaking in detail about the TCFD, a task force for climate-related financial disclosures. The TCFD published a report in 2017 with 11 recommendations asking companies to assess and disclose climate-related opportunities and risks of their business. These recommendations have been widely accepted as the foundation for corporate action on climate change.
Tricia then introduced Ciara Kalmus to explain what the net zero target is, and alongside this identify some of the direct effects of broadcasting on climate change, and the indirect effect through content that broadcasters produce.
In order to highlight the high-emitting behaviours of households, and what needs to be done to reduce carbon footprints, Richard Carmichael took the lead next. Richard also explained what could be the potential challenges and impacts of societal shifts caused by action taken to reduce carbon emissions.
It is clear that the television and broadcasting industry will need to change and adapt to new processes and strategies in order to meet the environmental target.
Watch the full webinar on the Bafta albert website here for more information.
