Irish Film Board

Case Study: Sustainability & Environmental Best Practice

The Client

Bord Scannán na hÉireann / Irish Film Board (IFB) is Ireland’s national film agency under the aegis of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. The agency supports and promotes the Irish film industry and the use of Ireland as a location for international productions. The IFB has two Irish offices, in Galway and Dublin and employs 18 staff.

The Challenge

The IFB wanted to create a Green Policy which would act as a framework for the continuous improvement of their environmental footprint. The objectives were to benchmark current performance and identify opportunities for both the IFB and the wider film industry to reduce their impact on the environment.

This was primarily in response to an increased global and national awareness of the impacts of the film industry on the environment. However, the IFB also wanted to be proactive in meeting their obligations relative to the new public sector target of 33% improvement in energy efficiency by 2020.

The Solution

Greenstreets conducted an environmental review of the IFB’s operations in Dublin and Galway covering areas such as energy, waste, water, staff behaviour and sustainable procurement. This allowed the performance of each office to be benchmarked so that progress could be measured in subsequent years.

The IFB’s CO2 footprint was determined according to international reporting standards using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol methodology. Each office received a tailored report which set-out a roadmap for reducing their environmental impact.

This resulted in the following outcomes:  

• 22% CO2 savings in year 1
• Significant opportunities for further reductions thereafter and
• Lower energy costs

Greenstreets also prepared a Green Policy Report for the IFB as a whole, setting out guidance on relevant legislation and policy. This was used to promote environmental awareness, both within the agency and across the wider film community.

The key benefits from the IFB’s perspective were:

• Independent carbon footprint assessment
• Cost-effective carbon reduction plan
• Road map to environmental best practice
• Baseline data against which to measure all future improvements