Have you checked out dgcgreen.ca lately?

The DGC National Sustainability & Climate Action Committee has been working hard to promote sustainability in our industry. Besides having practical pointers for every Guild-represented department, there are now two handy tools available to download for free on dgcgreen.ca to help calculate both the potential cost savings of using clean energy over diesel generators as well as the environmental cost of using construction and set-building resources. 

Have you ever wondered how the cost of tying-in or using the new electric mobile power units compare to that of using traditional diesel generators? With the Power Budgeting Tool, you can input variables like your fuel budget, the current cost of fuel and the length of your shoot into a spreadsheet, and compare the cost of using a diesel generator with an electric mobile battery or tying-in to the grid. There are 4 different tabs to the spreadsheet, allowing you to calculate potential carbon emissions and estimate generator fuel costs. The beauty of this tool is that it allows you to build a factual business case for using clean energy alternatives. 

The second tool, launched just this month, is a Materials Carbon Calculator. It allows you to input the quantities needed of specific building materials, like different types of wood, plastic, glass, paint and more, to measure their emissions. More and more productions are being mandated by their networks and studios to measure their carbon footprint. The Materials Carbon Calculator allows you to compare the emissions of different substances to make sound decisions in advance, and be able to measure their impact. 

While these two tools mostly benefit PMs, Producers, LM’s and the Art Department, the dgcgreen.ca site has lots of ways for every DGC department to make better sustainable choices on set. There are also recordings of past panels to watch, articles to read and links to sustainability resources across the country.

As we enter our 15th month straight of breaking global heat records, the climate crisis is reaching a tipping point of no return. Every action counts, and our industry can’t rely on “cinematic immunity” much longer. If we put our minds to it, I’m confident we can learn new ways to clean up our act and inspire change!

Annabelle Wilczur
Assistant Business Agent and Sustainability Lead