albert – BAFTA’s sustainability initiative – is launching a sports consortium to explore and act upon the impact sports broadcasting has on the environment.
The group will be made up of BT Sport, Sky Sports, BBC, ITV, Sunset & Vine, IMG, Premier League Productions, The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), Formula 1, Aurora Media and Channel 4.
They will explore some of the key challenges and opportunities posed in live sports broadcast particularly energy use and travel. The consortium will also share best practice on the steps which have already been taken such as the on-site power sharing agreement between Premier League Productions, Sky Sports and BT Sport – which led to a carbon saving of around 50 tonnes in six months.
“The challenges faced by the television sports community are quite unique when compared to those of our core Consortium members, not least because sports producers are at the behest of the sporting calendar and have to broadcast events from all over the world,” said Aaron Matthews, albert’s head of industry sustainability. “We wanted to create a separate group that could discuss the challenges they face and work on tailored solutions that can help them achieve net-zero carbon emissions.”
Sports broadcasters will be able to use the albert Calculator and Certification tools to help them measure their impact more effectively. Modules will also be created to complement albert’s free training programme to help inspire and alert sports presenters and commentators on how they can continue albert’s planet placement work, inspiring audiences to act for a sustainable future by incorporating climate focused conversations into their punditry and on screen work.
