Small Town, Big Story

According to the United Nations, approximately 30% of global food production is wasted every year. Considering that global hunger has been on the rise since 2014, coupled with the climate crisis, it is the responsibility of both individuals and businesses to take meaningful action to combat this pressing issue. On Small Town, Big Story we made reducing food waste a priority in the hope to not only reduce our impact on the environment, but to also spread awareness and help create practical solutions so that sustainable catering practices can: 

1. be cost-effective,

2. reduce carbon emissions and

3. have a positive social impact.

The Producers of Small Town, Big Story from the outset incorporated sustainable production practices at each stage of the production process. Playground Entertainment was acutely aware of the importance of producing sustainably and that it was increasingly becoming a production deliverable across their slate of projects. The consensus when it came to managing sustainability was: “if it’s not planned, it can’t be managed” and the Sky’s Sustainability Policy also echoed this by encouraging albert certification. Therefore, in order to meaningfully uphold sustainable production practices, the Producers, alongside the Sustainability Lead, developed a Production specific Sustainability Plan outlining the key areas the production aimed to address to reduce emissions and achieve albert certification:

1. Communication & Engagement

2. Waste Management

3. Sustainable Catering

4. Travel & Energy Usage

5. Materials

On Small Town, Big Story, we had big wins in meaningful emissions reduction such as reducing energy usage at filming spaces by approximately 86.55 tonnes of CO2e by using HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) which reduces emissions by up to 90%. This is the equivalent of driving 519,000km in a diesel car. We also used Ecoflow batteries to power the Catering Fridge, three solar hybrid welfare units, hybrid towerlights as well as showcasing an EV charger on screen, to name but a few sustainability measures. However, as part of measures to prioritise Sustainable Catering, our Catering company First Bite, with the assistance of the Sustainability Team, Screen Ireland and Olio, the food donation service we contracted, went to considerable lengths to not only ensure that edible food did not go to waste, but also that food waste was designed out from the get-go and incorporated into their company policy. 

In addition to engaging a service to operate as a mitigating measure to edible food waste/excess meals, the production and the catering company also recognised the importance of incorporating as many measures internally and within current work processes to ‘design out’ food waste. While we were in the privileged position to engage a service like Olio, a solution that is well suited and equipped to service large-budget productions with massive numbers of crew, cast and background artists, it goes without saying that not all productions are in this position. For this reason, it is paramount that suppliers innovate and incorporate sustainable production practices into their work processes. One of the cornerstones of sustainability is that it is a just transition and for this reason other mitigating measures were also explored by the Sustainability Lead and First Bite which not only reduced emissions but were for the majority of the time also cost effective such as:

1. Ensuring that accurate headcount numbers were given

2. Using a FIFO food storage system: “First in, First out”

3. Adapting menus when possible to design leftovers into menus (i.e. using leftovers in sandwiches, soups etc.)

4. Monitoring portion sizes and avoid overplating

5. Monitoring how much is eaten from the set table daily and adjust accordingly

Click below for a look at First Bite's Sustainability Policy:

Part 1

Part 2

While many factors worked in our favour on Small Town, Big Story, such as having a Sustainability Team and not having huge numbers of Background Artists, it goes without saying that we significantly reduced excess edible food waste by accurately tracking the amount of edible food waste generated each day and treating it as “data” to inform decision-making to reduce emissions. While there are always unforeseen factors in the Film Industry, planning is the only way to manage any measure to the best of our ability and to reduce our impact.

However, every production is different and certain factors, such as having a large number of Background Artists or varying headcounts each day, could pose as challenges to sustainability. For this reason, mitigating measures to emissions that can’t be designed out are of the utmost importance. For productions like these, Olio is a logistically sound solution that couples emissions reduction with a meaningful positive social impact.

Communication and having a plan is key to a successful Olio partnership and we found their team were well equipped to servicing the Film & TV industry. For example, in regards to the storage of donations, Olio can take donations in hotboxes, containers with tin foil etc. but once cooked it must be stored either in a refrigerator or hotbox if not collected within the hour by the volunteer. This didn’t prove difficult in practice but it was important that this was communicated to the caterer and effectively strategised so that we could donate as much as possible.