Sustainable Production: How Small Changes Lead to Big Impacts with Lowkey Films

Lowkey is a sustainability and ethics led production studio dedicated to changing how we produce content by protecting brands, people and planet. Represented by Lemonade Reps, Lowkey is established across the three pillars of; film and tv, commercial and special projects. 

LBB> Can you tell us about your own personal journey when it comes to getting involved in sustainable production - how did you get started and where has that journey taken you? 

Lowkey> We’ve always practiced sustainable production, but it’s been in 2023 where we’ve made the biggest progressive steps on our journey towards to becoming a B Corp. We started Lowkey with the intentions of being ‘sustainable’ in all senses of the word. Environmental care has always been of paramount importance to us but what we so align with about becoming a B Corp is that it’s also about the sustainability of the workplace. Sustainability as a word should also refer to creating a sustainable and healthy industry for us all to work within. 

LBB> What are the conversations that clients are having with you about their desire to reduce the carbon footprint and environmental impact of their content production? 

Lowkey> It very much varies from client to client, but it’s certainly becoming part of the conversation more and more. We’re always aware that some cost controllers could look to put any carbon offset costs back onto us – while other clients are keen to prioritise their reduction of the carbon footprint and will make it a requirement that we do the same. This is one of the areas we’re most excited about for B Corp, becoming a part of the B Corp community and working with new clients and brands who are equally as passionate about sustainability as we are. 

LBB> Speaking generally, how do you tend to approach assessing and minimising the footprint of the productions you are involved in -and is this something that is built into your processes?

Lowkey> Absolutely it is built into our processes. We feel it’s always worth remembering that it’s not always about COMPLETLEY changing processes, more just constantly asking the question: Is there a better and more sustainable way of achieving this? This can come down to green cars to set, vegan catering and working with sub-contractors who will collect sets, props, costumes and catering at the end of a day to recycle and reuse appropriately. One thing Ad Green in particular is great at highlighting, is that it’s not about being perfect straight away. I think this is something that puts a lot of companies/individuals off is the idea of having to completely upheave all their processes and change in an instant. Working with Ad Green and implement sustainable practices is about a gradual transition to becoming more carbon friendly, although with the way temperatures are rising that ‘gradual’ transition is having to become a slightly faster and more important transition. 

LBB> To what extent do you think the advertising and production world will retain and build on the lessons learned during the pandemic? 

Lowkey> Honestly, I feel we as people can become susceptible to slip back into bad practices. However, I think clients in particular have seen how successful remote shoots and streaming can be. We’ve been able to minimise a lot of unnecessary travel in this way. When we think about sustainability of people, and work/life balance, I think the introduction of flexible working and working from home has been great at helping to prevent burnout. The focus on prioritising ourselves and our loved ones during the pandemic, has definitely been something that has continued to be at the top of people’s priority list off the back of the pandemic and it’s something we have always supported at Lowkey. Setting and enforcing your boundaries is so key. 

LBB> What have you been finding are the most useful tools, resources and partners for reducing environmental impact/carbon footprint of productions? 

Lowkey> The initial B Corp impact assessment was a great way of really delving into how we are performing as a company, and where we can improve. It also highlights what is important and gives you a whole suite of new ideas and healthy ways of running your business. 

Ad Green obviously has become a really valuable resource for us when it comes to tracking and calculating our impact on set. We’ve also started using the ‘Ecosia’ search engine in the office which was something an intern of ours recommended to us. 

Other great tools have included the Olio app for recycling leftover food, the app helps to find a way of redirecting leftover food to people in the local area. Also On Screen is great for recycling left over costume & art department/props and also finding costumes etc. from other productions. We’re keen to work with more B Corps and carbon neutral companies within the industry like the wonderful team Coffee & TV and also PixiPixel. 

LBB> How is sustainability being built into your training and development for members of the production team?

Lowkey> As per B Corp it is becoming mandated. Everyone at Lowkey is Ad Green trained and all future employees will be too. We are even looking to put together a Lowkey freelance army, which will be a group of environmental stewards/green PA’s that will be AdGreen trained, and will also be trained in how we track and collect our impact data at Lowkey. We will have one of these green PAs on each shoot. 

B Corp has pushed us to focus on our office setup as much as our sets. We are completely paper-free now. We have policies on everything from e-waste to how to be more environmentally friendly when working-from-home. We track our office energy usage much more carefully now. Even down to the small things like having water-butt outside the office for watering the plants and having appliances on timer switches so nothing is on stand-by when we’re out of the office. 

LBB> At a recent Ad Net Zero event, Mark Read at WPP said that in total just 3% of the footage shot ends up on screen - does this signify huge wastage and the need for greater efficiencies in the production and craft or do you have other thoughts on this stat? 

Lowkey> It’s so interesting seeing it written down like this because it does equate to such a massive loss of footage. Some of this wastage will be digital and down to over-shooting I imagine, but of course there are always ways to reduce this. We are seeing a massive reduction in brands and agencies budgets and as a result of this, we’re hoping this will force all of us within the content industry to be less wasteful and more resourceful. Some of us in the industry see the reduction in budgets as a negative thing but I think it’s a really interesting and empowering moment to revolutionise how we produce content, and become more resourceful which if done in the right way, will not only reduce cost but also environmental impact. 

LBB> Because of remote production and the impact of transporting people and kit, I guess most sustainable production conversations are limited to live action, but what are the challenges and opportunities on the VFX and animation front? 

Lowkey> The breakthrough in technology of virtual production has been huge for reducing environmental impact as not only do you minimise the need for building multiple sets, you can also essentially shoot in multiple locations in one day on a VP stage minimising travel massively. As the LED screens are relatively low in energy consumption compared to traditional lighting methods, there is also a significant reduction in energy usage too. When it comes to VP, but also traditional VFX and animation, the rendering process is always the most processor and energy intensive and I think more work needs to be done in finding more energy efficient rendering solutions. 

LBB> In some ways it seems that when it comes to reducing carbon footprint, the advertising and marketing industry is focused almost exclusively on production (for good reason - there are obvious areas in production where clear, substantial and measurable progress can be made). What are your thoughts on this - is it a positive that production is able to take the lead or is there a risk that the industry will take the win and fail to look elsewhere (e.g. media)? 

Lowkey> Absolutely. And I guess I’m just going to sidestep the question a touch by saying that we’re quite comfortable having that pressure implemented onto us as it does have to start somewhere and, if the production industry can be seen as the initial force for progressive change – that’s something we can all be proud to pioneer. I think that more can continually be done from an editorial stand-point though, and we always enjoy seeing scripts and creative ideas come through from brands and agencies that embody sustainability and build that into their marketing approach, as ultimately education of the masses is really where we will make the biggest changes in society. 

LBB> Looking more broadly than carbon footprint, what are the other ways that production can be more sustainable? 

Lowkey> As discussed earlier, we should look at the true meaning of the word sustainable. Of course it refers to environmental protocols but it should also refer to us as humans and how ‘sustainable’ our working practices are for ourselves. Are we able to achieve a sustainable work life balance? Are we preventing burn-out? This industry is renowned for long hours and a ‘work until you drop’ mentality. It’s such a toxic way of thinking and I think it is the antithesis of what it means to be creative. It is incredibly difficult to use your imagination and be creative under-pressure, with minimal sleep and within a hostile work environment. We as an industry need to continue to root this way of thinking out, and start to prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of our creatives, crews and collaborators as I think many people have taken this for granted for far too long.

LBB> To what extent is the social or community impact of a production an important part of the sustainability conversation? 

Lowkey> It’s huge and as discussed above, it’s massively important for us at Lowkey. We want people to enjoy coming to work and looking forward to working on a Lowkey set. Not only does this make their lives and careers more sustainable, but it ultimately makes for a better film as you can tell from the performances of the cast and the way the film is crafted! 

LBB> Can you share some examples of projects you’ve worked on where you feel that the carbon footprint and sustainability were tackled in interesting or effective ways? 

Lowkey> We have a project coming up that we are particularly excited about from a sustainability perspective. It’s NDA’d for now, but is a climate activism short film with a very high-profile cast and we’re going to be going for Albert certification. Albert is the film and tv equivalent to Ad Green, and the Albert certification process is an incredibly rigorous programme to promote sustainable production practices and more eco-friendly choices. We are building this into our production right from the beginning, and are asking our cast to sign the 'Green Rider' from Equity which is a set of sustainability clauses that are added to film/tv contracts that states the sustainable actions the actor is willing to take and what they ask of the production in return. 

LBB> What advice would you give to anyone working in production, whether for production company, agency or brand, who is struggling to get buy-in from their clients and colleagues on sustainable production? 

Lowkey> Pioneer it and just get started. It has to start from somewhere at any level and even the smallest of changes in habits and practices is a start and can make a difference. Maybe if a single electrical technician could encourage their department head to use different lights, tracked the change in usage, and sent those results in to the production company they could turn heads. The only way we can become sustainable is by us all making the effort and one by one – making it the norm.