Director’s (carbon) cut: Sky goes carbon-neutral across all original shows

Sky has repeatedly said that is views offsetting as part of a wider patchwork of solutions to decarbonisation

The portfolio of shows, including Chernobyl and Brassic, has been certified by BAFTA’s Albert consortium, an organisation working to reduce the operational emissions of the TV industry and to change sustainability narratives on-screen.  

In order to ensure further progress in future, Sky has this week committed to produce all future shows in line with the CarbonNeutral Protocol. This framework requires producers to invest in clean energy and efficiency measures to reduce emissions, before turning to carbon offsetting, in light of the numerous controversies surrounding offsetting projects.

Sky said in a statement that, in its journey towards becoming a net-zero business by 2030, it is aiming to “only offset what cannot be reduced”. But, for now, Sky’s group chief executive Jeremy Darroch said the carbon-neutral certification is an “important milestone on [Sky’s] path to net-zero carbon”.

Sky’s net-zero commitment, unveiled in February, will see the firm reduce emissions across its entire value chain. It binds Sky to reducing emissions from business operations, suppliers and customers (during the use of its products) by at least 50%, then investing in robust, nature-based offsetting schemes to address residual emissions. Sky has notably received carbon-neutral certification for its business operations every year since 2006 and has had its new targets approved in line with a 1.5C trajectory by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

In light of the fact that Sky works with more than 11,000 businesses and boasts 24 million customers, the net-zero commitment also includes measures to engage a wider audience to #GoZero ahead of the UK Government’s 2050 deadline. Darroch said 2030 had been chosen for Sky’s deadline as the 2020s will be a “critical decade on the long road to climate recovery”, in which “all businesses have the opportunity to accelerate progress and become part of the solution”.

“It’s fantastic that Sky are choosing to tackle their emissions head-on and set their own ambitious target… and we look forward to working with Sky to make Sky Zero a success,” albert’s head of industry sustainability Aaron Matthews said.

“Britain has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 which means all businesses including those in the film and TV industry will need to look at their operations.

Sky’s head of responsible business and Sky Ocean Rescue Fiona Ball recently “dissected” Sky’s plans for becoming net-zero in an exclusive interview with edie. You can read that article in full here.

Sarah George

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