German Green Consultant Anika Kruse is a fierce protector of the environment and predicts that in the future, cinemagoers will be too. Her children will refuse to watch movies unless they know that they have been certified as green: she believes that this will become a demand of many young people, which might dramatically affect their choices as cinemagoers in the future.

Kruse has a degree in media and communication but recently decided that her career should take a new turn in order for her to follow her passion to help make movie productions more environmentally friendly. So, in 2021, she became a certified “Green Consultant Film & TV,” trained by the sustainability expert, director and author Philip Gassmann. In the autumn of 2021, she passed the exam to qualify as “Transformation Manager Sustainable Culture” and serves as a member of the board of the Federal Association of Green Film & TV Consultants, where she is responsible for further education, consulting and communication. We spoke to Anika Kruse about her job as a Green Consultant.

You are a certified Green Consultant. What does your job entail?

Being a Green Consultant requires a great amount of knowledge and experience in the field of film technologies and workflows, specific knowledge of the alternatives, as well as distinctive management, organization and communication skills. In every area of a production, there are a lot of possibilities to save not only carbon dioxide but also important resources and even money.

Basically, a certified Green Consultant sets up an environmental management system. This can range from a self-developed procedure – for example, in the context of an individual film or television production – to a company environmental management system according to EMAS or DIN 14001.

As soon as the first CO2 balance sheet has been drawn up, the Green Consultant can concentrate on the individual trades and implement measures together in dialogue. The biggest challenge is the time aspect because many adjustments can most easily be made in the pre-production phase.

The Green Consultant accompanies the shooting but is not permanently on the set. He or she is usually employed part-time or as a freelancer. At the end, the consultant prepares a final report that presents the concrete carbon calculation and shows where the production had its emission focal points, where savings were possible and what difficulties they encountered in implementing sustainable measures.

What should a film production know before they hire someone like you?

Both the movie production and its Green Consultant are doing real pioneering work.

It is therefore all the more important that I am familiar with the latest developments as well as technologies, and that I constantly educate myself. Knowledge, open-mindedness and authenticity are important in my profession because that creates trust and respect right from the start and also an equal basis.

The following understanding is an important prerequisite for a homogeneous cooperation with us: that we, the Green Consultants, are not an authority that accuses those responsible for a film project of supposed mistakes and then also raises the admonishing finger.

Constructiveness and sovereign action are important for all involved and the right way jointly to create a change towards environmentally sound production. We raise awareness for resource conservation in the context of precise coordination.

As a Green Consultant, I immerse myself in the project and ideally discover the levers that a production can implement quite easily under time and financial pressure. This happens most efficiently when I am involved in the project as early as possible. This way, the biggest CO2 hotspots can be identified early on, and measures can be better planned. Good, precise communication is “green” gold. This concerns everyone involved. But sometimes you still have to nudge people in this regard a bit.

What are some of the solutions to making a film production green? Can you give some examples?

Switching to certified green electricity is one of the quickest and easiest methods to drastically reduce CO2 emissions. Diesel generators usually cause high greenhouse gas emissions. Whenever possible, the electricity should be provided over a grid connection and not come from generators. When using several (diesel) generators at one location, an energy-saving power grid management system should be employed wherever possible.

The lighting in the studio and on-site requires high power and, thus, is responsible for producing greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to technological progress, a large part of this power consumption can be saved by switching to energy-saving illumination.

Travel and transportation should also be considered. Rail travel is generally the most environmentally friendly means of transport and emits an average of 90% less greenhouse gas emissions than an aircraft. Use vehicles with low CO2, soot and nitrogen oxide emissions. There are electric cars (preferably using green electricity), natural gas vehicles (preferably using bio-CNG) and hybrid vehicles (classic hybrid vehicles and plug-in hybrids.) But, in principle, it is advisable to reduce mobility.

Wherever possible, apartments/holiday homes or hotels with recognized environmental measures should be booked for overnight stays. Every overnight stay causes high greenhouse gas emissions, although stays in hotels generally cause higher greenhouse gas emissions per night per person than overnight stays in apartments or holiday homes. At hotels, greenhouse gas emissions can be significantly reduced through appropriate measures.

When it comes to catering, the consumption of meat should be reduced as much as possible during production. Current food production causes a considerable proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions. This applies in particular to the production of meat, but also to the worldwide transportation of food and the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides.

Paper documents should be avoided. Instead, all production documents should be digital. Backdrops, decorative objects and materials should be reusable. This target can be accomplished by storing the materials, renting them or using second-hand items. The aim is to have a circular economy.

Costumes should be reusable. This can be achieved, for example, by keeping costumes in storage, lending or using second-hand items. 

Fast fashion and clothing from retail discounters should be avoided. Disposable plastic should generally be avoided in all production areas and replaced by more environmentally friendly solutions.

The waste produced must be separated at every production facility (including on-site), in all studios and in all offices. Waste must be separated into, at least, the following categories: paper, glass, plastic and packaging/wrapping, metal, organic waste, and wood. 

Which films have you worked on, and which experience was the best and why?

My first project was shot last year in late summer, Mittagsstunde with director Lars Jessen. Immediately afterward, I accompanied the new feature film Rheingold by director Fatih Akin. In general, it is a great pleasure when the team is committed and open-minded. Good and constructive discussions ensue, despite the enormous pressure that weighs on such major projects, in terms of time and finances.

What I am particularly pleased about is that the individual departments are intensively dealing with the issue of sustainability and that the service providers/landlords also support us in our work in the best possible way. That is a wonderful development.

You are on the board of the Federal Association of Green Film and TV consultants. Are you an international association and how many members do you have?

 

First of all, as a federal association, we are represented in all kinds of bodies at the state and national levels. Here we promote sustainable media productions and represent the political interests of our members.

In fact, however, we are the only association worldwide with this constellation, job profile and representation of interests. The federal association was launched at the beginning of 2021. And we are now already, one year later, almost 70 certified members! There are also members from Norway, Switzerland, Austria and Portugal.

What do you think it will take to educate the film industry into becoming greener, so to speak?

Transparency, communication, time, commonsense and above all: financial support.

A lot is demanded of the productions in terms of the new minimum ecological standards under the “Green Motion” label: in order to ultimately receive the “Green Motion” label, the productions must have fulfilled 18 of 21 mandatory criteria. Tapping into this extensive catalog of a total of 44 criteria and drawing up a corresponding carbon footprint is not a quick side job.

Many of these criteria are utopian for some productions but quite achievable for others. Their great value, however, lies in the fact that they generate demand and thus also meet the needs of the industry.

And in order to be really able to make essential changes to production methods, we need more time, especially when it comes to preparation. Since time is money in this sector as well, this is the Achilles’ heel.

What are your biggest challenges?

Whether LED headlights, gas- and electric-powered trucks or alternative drives in the vehicle fleet – many things are not yet fully developed or available on the rental market. But the higher demand will obviously accelerate the development.

In your opinion, what are the most important steps film productions should take towards being more environmentally friendly?

Ideally, the production should also look at the whole thing from the green side while checking the script – or include green consulting. This could also lead to special, previously unplanned creative execution of the script. Either way, the earlier one starts on the consulting, the greener the outcome.

And also it is important to develop the willingness – with open-mindedness, joy of experimentation and courage – to deviate from well-worn procedures and to change one’s perspective. Environmentally harmful effects during filming could thus be avoided very easily.

In any case, there is no lack of creativity: in my opinion, filmmaking is one of the most creative professions in the world!