Sustainability at CBeebies - is it easy being green?
A lot goes into making your little one's favourite shows and turning that first brilliant idea into the final programme we show on TV and here at CBeebies we're always aiming to keep our big productions as environmentally friendly as we can. Working with BAFTA, we've been making sure our programmes are as sustainable as possible and we sat down with one of our Executive Producers to find just how the teams go about reducing their carbon footprint...
I’m Vanessa Amberleigh, an Executive Producer for In-House production at CBeebies. I have worked in Children’s television for over 25 years and love it! My role is to help guarantee programmes made by our in-house teams are true to the values of CBeebies.
I look after a variety of shows that include Something Special, Show Me Show Me, Gigglebiz, Swashbuckle, Mr Bloom: Here and There, Justin’s House and the CBeebies dance events.
Part of my role is to fully support sustainability of productions so that as a team we ensure we are wholly conscious of not producing too much unnecessary waste, recycle where we can and help make suppliers think about the sustainability of their companies too.
We are obliged to provide a detailed account of how we monitor sustainability and from this our production carbon footprint is calculated. This action is part of a scheme rolled out by BAFTA and many other broadcasters and production companies adhere to these guidelines too. Some productions aim to go that extra mile to attain an Albert +, which allows them to add a logo to their credits. This logo shows that production has done everything it possibly can to ensure best practices in sustainability.
And how do we get an Albert + award?
There are lots of things we can ask when making a programme, for example we’d want to know whether suppliers think about unnecessary waste when working on a production; do caterers use proper mugs, crockery and cutlery rather than plastic throw always? Can we use a recycled oil generator for power on location? Are the hire cars we use eco-friendly? Have we signed up to minimal printing of scripts and other paper work? Are we recycling any plastic and paper during a production? Are we using low energy studio lighting? Are we switching off unnecessary lights?
They may all sound obvious questions, but by asking them we are ensuring that the industry and suppliers are thinking about their impact on the world.
We encourage the use of personal water bottles that can be filled from one source rather than supplying endless plastic bottles of water; using real mugs or supplying thermo mugs for teas and coffees rather than throw away plastic cups. Every little helps and if we can make sure every production thinks about it, we can make a difference.
So the next time you are watching a CBeebies show look out for a prop or piece of scenery that may have been used elsewhere!
Some of the scenery we used in The Ugly Duckling
The reeds popped up again for The Three Little Pigs
And they popped up again in this year's Elves and the Shoemaker
CBeebies Ugly Duckling, Three Little Pigs and Elves and the Shoemaker all made use of the same reeds and trees as part of the set. And look out for the rocks as seen in Swashbuckle, you may soon spot them on a new production for CBeebies! Keep your eyes peeled.
At CBeebies we make shows for children, so it is important we are ensuring a better, cleaner world for them to inherit.
This means we’ll always try to recycle and re-use where we can – and that goes for some of the jokes!