Our Plan
As a large independent production company, Plimsoll has a duty to measure and reduce our impact on the planet. As part of ITV Studios, we also subscribe to the group’s environmental goals, including Net Zero by 2050, a sustainable supply chain by 2030, and zero waste by 2030. We are committed to meeting these targets, exceeding them where we can.
Our plan relies on three key ideas:
Reducing our impact As experienced programme makers, it is vital that we explore ways to reduce our carbon footprint throughout the TV production process. Through our working practices, we prioritise carbon reduction over offsetting. We focus on avoidance, reduction and substitution of emission producing activities, and recognise that in some cases, this will have a financial implication. Our productions work with the industry environmental initiative, Albert, to reduce waste and carbon emissions. Each production commits to reducing its impact on the environment, then sets its own sustainability goals and carbon reduction targets. These commitments are formalised in a ‘green memo.’ Through The World Land Trust, we offset the total carbon footprint of each production once it is delivered. Plimsoll also makes a monthly donation to Ecologi, towards offsetting each staff member’s personal carbon footprint.
Embedding sustainable practices in our culture
It is a key part of our plan that nobody treats environmental practices as a tick-box exercise. As individuals, we share the responsibility of the impact our work has. We have set up a Green Team with members from across the company. They meet regularly to discuss our strategy and activities. In addition, we hold monthly roundtable meetings with representatives from every department and production. This gives us the opportunity to hear ideas from every corner of the business and helps us move forward in ways that are relevant and useful to our staff. Through these groups, and our company culture, we promote the importance of working and living sustainably. We have a list of green initiatives and protocols implemented in our offices, to reduce our carbon footprint. These range from how we organise company events to rechargeable battery schemes and ensuring we purchase environmentally friendly products for our
kitchen. A full list of these is available here. Our staff also receive mandatory climate action training.
Reflecting our values in our shows
Alongside our working practices, we aim to educate and highlight the importance of the climate emergency through our content. We can do this through direct calls to action, creating shows which address the climate crisis specifically, as well as indirectly and encouraging greener ways to live.
These three core ideas, collectively depend on us as a company investing, innovating, and collaborating. Investing in new technology, and greener solutions. Innovating by producing solutions to problems productions teams are faced with, and finally collaborating with others, internally and externally to share learnings, and create opportunities to improve how we as an industry produce shows, more sustainably. While we are proud of what we have achieved so far, we recognise there is room for improvement, and that we must continue to evolve and adapt. Plimsoll will review this policy annually, along with all our green working practices and initiatives.
