September Says

The Producers of September Says (2023) aimed to make this production as sustainable as possible in line with the Paris Agreement and scientific guidance and recommendations. The Production actively managed their carbon footprint using the Albert carbon calculator, identified where their emissions were occurring, and ultimately reduced those emissions. The Production relied on accurate and consistent reporting and the cooperation of all crew with the approved Sustainability Plan. 

By all crew adhering to their department's sustainability guidelines, and actively supporting the Sustainability Advisor in accounting for the production's carbon emissions, September Says achieved a reduction in emissions. This achievement has led to September Says achieving an impressive 78%, 2-star Albert rating.

The total carbon emissions produced by September Says were 50.07 tonnes of CO2e. This is equivalent to someone driving a diesel car for 300,420 km. 
 

The production’s biggest accomplishments were filming spaces running on HVO instead of Green Diesel, the elimination of single-use plastic and opting for 19L water drums, as well as the Costume department supporting Circular Costume Ireland, which is a crew led non profit sustainability initiative. 

September Says strategically focused on 5 key areas to help us achieve albert certification:

1. Communication & Engagement

2. Waste Management

3. Sustainable Catering

4. Energy Usage & Travel

5. Materials

Keep scrolling through to see some of the key highlights.

Emissions associated with energy usage and travel were approximately 91.5% of the production’s carbon footprint. 

In an effort to reduce emissions, September Says used HVO instead of Green diesel for energy at filming spaces for the majority of the shoot. Using HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil), a drop-in diesel replacement which reduces emissions by up to 90%, meant that Locations, Facilities and Electrical department's diesel powered equipment were able to reap these emission reducing benefits. The Electrical department, AllGen, Locations, Production and the Facilities teams deserve special recognition for making this possible. 

On top of that, the Production also prioritised the use of rechargeable batteries instead of single-use, LED lighting and enforced a strict no-idling policy and discouraged single passenger journeys to further reduce emissions associated with energy usage. 

One of the biggest highlights of this production was the extent and care paid to sourcing and disposing of materials as sustainably as possible across all departments. Special recognition is due for their fantastic and meaningful work in this area. 

For example, September Says saved 1,900 single-use plastic bottles from going to landfill. 

By the production choosing to use 19L water drums, along with enforcing a bring your own water bottle and coffee cup policy, this helped the production reduce a significant amount of single-use plastic waste.

The Costume Department went to considerable lengths to ensure that their department was as sustainable as possible: 

They worked closely with two companies, The Abbey Hire and Circular Costume Ireland (CCI), which are actively engaged in circular economy practices within the Irish costume industry. September Says hired approximately 100 items from the Abbey Costume Hire, which has been renting costume to stage and screen productions for over 10 years. 

Circular Costume Ireland (CCI) is a non-profit crew led sustainability initiative which collects pre-used costumes at the end of productions and resells them so that items can stay and be reused within the industry. Approximately 150 items of costume were purchased second-hand from CCI. September Says also rented rails, hangers, ironing boards and drying racks which meant these items did not have to be purchased. Art department also purchased approximately 50 items of clothing from CCI to be used as set dressing. 

In addition, the production company also decided to embargo their costumes in CCI’s storage facilities for reshoots after which the items were redonated to CCI so that they can be reused on future productions.