Originally Published – Studio 91 Media
One of the driving forces behind Studio 91 Media is our desire to make the world better. To make a positive impact both on digital platforms and on our physical environment. As part of that, we’ve been taking proactive steps to become as sustainable as possible. That includes working with The Carbon Literacy Project to achieve silver Carbon Literate Organisation status.
I know what you’re thinking – “What on earth does that mean?!” It’s more straightforward than it sounds.
What is Carbon Literacy?
Carbon Literacy is defined as:
An awareness of the carbon dioxide costs and impacts of everyday activities, and the ability and motivation to reduce emissions, on an individual, community and organisational basis.
The Carbon Literacy Project
The Carbon Literacy Project is a fantastic Manchester-based initiative. They aim to educate people on the need for change in this area, then to equip and empower them to do things differently. They award CLO status (Carbon Literate Organisation) to companies who have a demonstrable commitment to sustainability and a Carbon Literacy training programme in place for their team. Any organisation of any size can apply. We are a silver CLO, but there are also bronze, gold and platinum tiers.
I took a Carbon Literacy course while working for the BBC, and it opened my eyes to a lot of things. It made me realise where we’re headed as a planet. How fast we’re getting there. What we can do to try and turn things around. Since founding Studio 91 Media, I decided to go for CLO Silver status as a company. As part of that, we’ve made a number of commitments as outlined below.
What are we doing differently?
Our main area of impact in terms of CO2 emissions is around transport, i.e. getting to video shoots with heavy kit. Public transport is sometimes an option but is generally not practical due to the location and the amount of equipment. That’s why we’ve bought a Dutch-style electric cargo bike for getting to local shoots, big enough to carry enough camera kit for most purposes. When cycling is not an option, we’ll be using a plug-in hybrid car.
An important part of being a Carbon Literate Organisation is committing to training staff. Thanks to a partnership of broadcasters called the albert consortium, training is available to production companies for free. As our team grows, we will aim for any new starters to be certified Carbon Literate within 6 months of joining. And when reviewing team members’ performance, we will follow up on the actions pledged in their CL training and support them to fulfil these pledges in any way we can.
What’s next?
We’re not stopping here, because there’s lots more to do. As we grow as a company, we’ll keep looking for ways to be more sustainable. My hope is that being officially Carbon Literate will not only help us achieve our goals of making a positive impact on the world around us, but it will also make us more attractive to potential clients who share our values.
If you have questions about The Carbon Literacy Project or anything else, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.