Sustainable Practice

Whether you're filming a documentary, creating assets for a game, writing a screenplay, producing digital content, or developing a brand campaign, every creative decision has an environmental impact. As the creative industries evolve, sustainable practice is becoming an essential part of responsible storytelling and production.

This page brings together practical guidance, industry tools, and local resources to help you embed sustainability into your creative work. Whatever you're making, you'll find ideas and support to reduce your environmental impact while continuing to create ambitious, high-quality work.

Why is sustainability so important?

Why it matters

One hour of UK TV production creates around 13 tonnes of CO₂ - more than the average person emits in a year.
A big-budget feature film can produce nearly 2,840 tonnes of CO₂.
Games have an impact too, from energy-hungry servers to electronic waste from outdated hardware.
Creative work shapes culture. The stories you tell can influence how people think about the world and the future.
The industry is changing. More than 70% of continuing dramas and news programmes now include climate-related content, and sustainable practice is becoming an industry expectation.

Practical actions

Reduce before you offset. Reuse props, materials, and equipment before buying new. Choose digital delivery and cloud storage mindfully — data centres carry a real carbon cost too.
Plan for end-of-life. Whether it's a physical set, a prop, or old hardware, think about where it goes when the project wraps.
Build sustainability into the story, not just the process. Increasingly, audiences respond to narratives that model change.
Use the free industry tools. Carbon calculators, sustainability guides, and certification schemes exist for film, TV, and games. Most are free and built for productions of any size, including student ones.

Use UK Gov Carbon Calculator

THINK LOCAL!

Looking to source sustainably for your project?

Leeds is home to some brilliant local organisations that support low-impact creativity, whatever you're building — a set, a prop, a game asset, or just clearing out old kit. These partners can help you reduce waste, save money, and work more sustainably from pre-production through to strike.

Wherever possible, we encourage you to work with local suppliers who share your commitment to sustainability.

Seagulls Paint

Repurposing unwanted paint since 2005. The paint is diverted from landfill to help the planet, create jobs and help get peoples lives back on track

SAIL

A pioneering not-for-profit that supports the creative and cultural industries to be environmentally sustainable

Resource Hub

Free platform helping theatre, film, TV and all other creative professionals source and donate high-quality materials such as sets, props, costumes and equipment

Zero Waste Leeds

They run practical projects that help build a more circular economy in Leeds

SCRAP

A Leeds-based scrapstore stocked with reclaimed materials for props, set dressing, maquettes, and craft builds

T&M Reuse Yorkshire

Free, WEEE-compliant e-waste collection across Leeds and West Yorkshire, including damaged or non-functional equipment