In a move toward more planet-friendly movies, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG) has announced today that it is launching a new initiative called the GreenerLight Program (a play on the term given for when movies are given a go at a studio).
The new plan is designed to embed sustainable practices and eco-conscious forethought across the entirety of the filmmaking process, starting from script development and on to production (including location decisions) and distribution. The studio also said the program will encompass looking at depictions of on-screen behaviors from an environmentally friendly angle. (Similar moves have been made by such directors as Kat Coiro, who has worked in partnership with the nonprofit Habits of Waste to show characters using reusable containers instead of single-use plastics onscreen.)
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Going forward, every film that is greenlit at the studio will include a sustainability plan, which Universal claims is unique among studios.
Said Universal Pictures president Peter Cramer in a statement announcing the program, “Through the Sustainable Production Program, we have been working for more than a decade to reduce environmental impact on our sets. UFEG is now expanding its commitment to sustainability starting as early as the development phase. Across the filmmaking process, we will apply an inclusive strategy to increasing our sustainability efforts and continuing to do better on all fronts.”
Universal said that the program was developed by the UFEG Film Strategy team in partnership with the NBCUniversal Sustainability Department. As Cramer notes, Greenerlight is an expansion of the studio’s already existing Sustainable Production Program, which focuses on such concerns as energy efficiency, fuel-use reduction and donations of food and set material.
“UFEG’s GreenerLight Program is the first of its kind and will lead the way for the industry to help inspire change — onscreen and off,” said Daniel Hinerfeld, director of the Rewrite the Future program of the Natural Resources Defense Council, which has partnered with and advised the studio on its eco initiatives.
The move comes amid other recent green initiatives in the entertainment industry including at streamers such as Amazon Studios (which invested in battery-powered generator company Moxion Power and using the machines on its productions in place of higher-pollution models) and Netflix (which has partnered with GM to showcase EV cars in its shows and films).
