Ireland Film Scene's Eco Push Isn't As Simple As It Sounds
- 01. Irish film industry is going greener than expected
- 02. Why sustainability matters in Irish film
- 03. Key emissions drivers and responses
- 04. How Irish productions are cutting emissions
- 05. Policy framework and standards
- 06. Reuse, waste, and circular economy
- 07. Green catering and on-set practices
- 08. Realistic emissions data and benchmarks
- 09. What Irish producers are doing today
- 10. Steps a new Irish production can take
- 11. Frequently asked questions
Irish film industry is going greener than expected
The Ireland film industry is rapidly adopting a suite of sustainability measures that are reducing its carbon footprint, reshaping production culture, and aligning the sector with national climate targets. A 2025 decarbonisation assessment of 15 recent Irish films and TV dramas found average emissions of around 1-10-tonne CO₂ equivalent per episode for drama and per feature, with leading productions now achieving reductions of 30-60 percent against baseline levels through low-carbon transport, renewable energy, and circular-materials practices. This shift is driven by new Screen Ireland Sustainability Standards, a national "Decarbonisation Report", and growing uptake of global tools such as the Albert certification system.
Why sustainability matters in Irish film
The Irish audiovisual sector now contributes roughly 1.5-2 percent of national GDP, with over 100 international and domestic productions shooting annually on location and in studios. Each high-end TV drama or feature can generate tens to hundreds of tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, primarily from road transport, air travel, fuel-burning generators, and single-use materials. Without action, the sector's emissions would grow in line with rising production volumes and Ireland's 2030 target of a 51 percent cut in overall greenhouse gases.
Screen Ireland's decarbonisation strategy explicitly frames environmental performance as a condition of future public funding, requiring all funded live-action productions to meet minimum sustainability standards from pre-production through wrap. Northern Ireland Screen meanwhile has embedded "Stories, Skills and Sustainability" into its core strategy, mandating or strongly encouraging Albert certification for all locally funded projects. These policy levers turn climate targets into concrete production-level requirements, not just aspirational language.
Key emissions drivers and responses
A 2025 "Decarbonisation Report for Ireland's Screen Stakeholders", based on data from 15 films and TV dramas made between 2021 and 2024, found a total of 1,458.36 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent across the sample. TV dramas accounted for 920.8 tCO₂e and features for 537.6 tCO₂e, with a single large-budget TV drama responsible for 293.9 tCO₂e across six episodes, while another drama achieved just 13.97 tCO₂e for eight episodes. These wide spreads show that the choice of production practices has a far greater impact than raw length or budget.
By category, road transport emissions dominate TV drama, making up about one-third of total carbon output, followed by location-based energy (15 percent), accommodation (13 percent), air travel (13 percent), and food and beverage (9 percent). For features, air travel emissions top the list at around 27 percent, with energy (22 percent) and road travel (15 percent) close behind. These findings highlight that the biggest decarbonisation gains lie not in props or costumes, but in transport logistics, energy supply, and travel policy.
How Irish productions are cutting emissions
Leading Irish productions now use carbon calculators and Albert action plans to map their entire footprint and then implement targeted reductions. For example, several recent dramas have switched from diesel generators to battery-powered LED lighting and hybrid vehicles, reduced long-distance crew shuttles by clustering shoot days, and shifted overnight locations closer to main hubs. One case-study TV series reported a 58 percent cut in transport emissions purely by replacing coach fleets with smaller electric or hybrid vans and optimising call-times.
On the studio and infrastructure side, Ardmore Studios and Troy Studios have begun retrofitting buildings with LED lighting, low-energy HVAC systems, and solar arrays, while also investing in electric vehicle charging points for cast and crew. These projects are framed as part of a broader push to create "green studio campuses" that can attract long-term, high-end international series committed to ESG reporting. Independent rental houses and equipment suppliers are following suit, offering "green kit lists" that prioritise low-power cameras, battery systems, and energy-efficient grip gear.
Policy framework and standards
Screen Ireland's Sustainability Standards: Live Action Production, published in late 2023, divides environmental actions into "General" measures and "Topic Specific" headings such as energy, transport, waste, and biodiversity. Each standard distinguishes between "required" behaviours (e.g., mandatory waste audits, phase-out of non-essential diesel generators, and use of sustainable travel-policy templates) and "recommended" ones (e.g., on-set recycling, low-impact catering, and local sourcing of materials). Productions must demonstrate compliance with the required tier to retain funding, giving the standards teeth rather than toothless guidance.
The parallel Decarbonisation Report recommends a set of macro-level interventions: a national awareness campaign for the screen sector, regular carbon-footprint assessments every three to four years, mandatory sustainability training for key crew roles, and closer alignment between tax-incentive frameworks and low-carbon targets. It also proposes piloting a "circular economy hub" for reusable set materials, costumes, and props, which could serve both Irish and visiting international productions.
Reuse, waste, and circular economy
Materials used on Irish sets-timber, MDF, adhesives, paint, paper, and textiles-can account for up to 14.4 percent of a feature film's emissions when measured from extraction through disposal. Yet a 2024 survey of Irish production designers found that only about 35 percent of construction materials and 20 percent of decorative props were reused across shows, with most scenery ending in landfill or incineration.
To address this, Screen Ireland and industry partners are trialling circular economy initiatives such as shared storage warehouses, online "set-swap" platforms, and standardised material-reuse protocols. One pilot project in Dublin recorded a 42 percent drop in new timber purchases by enabling three back-to-back dramas to share modular walls, doors, and façades instead of rebuilding from scratch each time.
Green catering and on-set practices
Food and beverage services contribute roughly 9-12 percent of emissions on Irish shoots via energy-intensive kitchens, single-use packaging, and long-distance ingredient transport. In response, Screen Ireland now encourages caterers to sign up to a "Green Catering Charter" that emphasises locally sourced, seasonal food, meat-reduced menus, and elimination of single-use plastics.
Several productions have reported that shifting to plant-forward menus and reusable tableware reduced their catering-related emissions by 25-30 percent with only a 1-2 percent increase in food-budget costs. These savings are often reinvested in local suppliers and community-supported agriculture schemes around key filming regions such as Wicklow, Galway, and Cork.
Realistic emissions data and benchmarks
The following table illustrates representative emissions ranges for different Irish production types, based on the 2025 decarbonisation dataset. These are illustrative averages; actual figures vary widely depending on approach.
| Production type | Typical emissions per episode/feature | Low-emission benchmarks |
|---|---|---|
| High-end TV drama (6-8 episodes) | 15-50 tCO₂e per episode | Below 10 tCO₂e per episode |
| Mid-budget TV drama | 8-20 tCO₂e per episode | Below 5 tCO₂e per episode |
| Feature film, large-budget | 80-130 tCO₂e per feature | Below 60 tCO₂e per feature |
| Low-budget feature | 10-25 tCO₂e per feature | Below 8 tCO₂e per feature |
| TV wildlife or documentary | 5-15 tCO₂e per episode | Below 4 tCO₂e per episode |
These figures show that even modest changes in transport, energy and materials can shift a project from the top quartile to the bottom quartile of its category.
What Irish producers are doing today
Across the Irish production landscape, companies are implementing a shared toolkit of low-carbon measures. A typical core-action list includes:
- Requiring all productions to run an Albert or equivalent carbon calculator within the first two weeks of principal photography.
- Replacing diesel generators with battery-powered systems and hybrid vehicles wherever grid access or battery capacity allows.
- Switching at least 70 percent of on-set transport to electric or hybrid vehicles and using public-transit passes for crew.
- Implementing mandatory waste-sorting and recycling stations at every base-camp and studio complex.
- Signing up to Screen Ireland's Green Catering Charter and reducing single-use plastics across locations.
- Creating "reuse libraries" of sets, props, costumes, and greens for subsequent productions.
Many of these actions are now being treated as standard operating procedures rather than optional "green extras".
Steps a new Irish production can take
For a producer starting a new project in Ireland, the following sequence can drive meaningful sustainability gains without sacrificing scheduling or creative quality.
- Run a baseline carbon assessment using the Albert calculator or a certified Irish equivalent during pre-production.
- Assign a sustainability coordinator role with line-item authority over transport, energy, and waste budgets.
- Adjust transport planning to minimise long-haul crew shuttles, remove unnecessary car hires, and prioritise electric vans and buses.
- Switch location power to grid or battery where feasible and agree exit criteria for diesel generators with cinematographer and Gaffer.
- Negotiate with caterers to meet the Green Catering Charter and set recycling targets for each base-camp.
- Plan set builds using modular, reusable components and coordinate with the proposed circular-economy hub for material swaps.
- Conduct a final emissions report and action-plan review at wrap, then share anonymised results with Screen Ireland and industry forums.
Producers who follow this pathway frequently report that their overall carbon footprint falls into the "low-emission" band in the table above, while also improving crew welfare and stakeholder relations.
Frequently asked questions
Expert answers to Ireland Film Scenes Eco Push Isnt As Simple As It Sounds queries
What is the carbon footprint of an average Irish TV drama?
An average Irish TV drama from the 2021-2024 sample emits roughly 15-50 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per episode, with outliers ranging from about 13 to almost 300 tonnes for a single six-episode series. The main drivers are road transport emissions, location energy use, and crew travel, rather than the number of cameras or days shot.
How is Screen Ireland enforcing sustainability?
Screen Ireland enforces sustainability through its Sustainability Standards: Live Action Production, which tie public funding to minimum environmental requirements such as mandatory waste audits, limits on diesel-generator use, and adoption of low-carbon transport and catering plans. Productions must demonstrate compliance with these "required" actions and are strongly encouraged to adopt additional "recommended" measures to qualify for higher funding tiers.
What role does Albert certification play in Ireland?
In Ireland, Albert certification is increasingly treated as the de facto standard for sustainable film and TV production, with Northern Ireland Screen explicitly encouraging all funded projects to obtain it and many Irish studios using it as a benchmark. The process involves measuring a production's footprint with the Albert calculator, creating a Carbon Action Plan, and implementing targeted reductions such as electric transport, renewable energy, and material reuse.
Can independent and low-budget Irish productions be sustainable?
Yes. Low-budget Irish features in the decarbonisation sample achieved emissions as low as 8.2-10 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per film, proving that austerity can align with sustainability. Key tactics include local casting and crewing to cut air travel, shooting shorter schedules, using existing buildings instead of builds, and reusing props and costumes from previous projects.
Will Ireland's film industry meet its climate targets by 2030?
The Decarbonisation Report concludes that Ireland's film and TV sector can contribute meaningfully to national 2030 goals if it front-loads funding into low-carbon infrastructure, transport electrification, and training. However, it warns that without stronger policy alignment-such as linking tax incentives to verified emissions reductions and scaling up EV infrastructure in rural filming regions-progress will remain patchy and uneven.