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This page offers specific guidance on our sustainability requirements, what to submit and useful resources.

It's vital to us that environmental sustainability is embedded in the way our programmes are made and that production processes support our ambitions to be a net zero broadcaster. We work with the BAFTA albert consortium and use the albert system to track this.

We have a wealth of additional resources to help productions be more sustainable on and off-screen including an end-to-end production guide, top tips for reducing carbon emissions, ideas for how to reflect environmental bahaviours on-screen, production case studies, a guide to the science behind climate change and advice on budgeting for sustainable productions.

Requirements and exemptions

albert certification is mandatory for all new commissions and recommissions of TV broadcast content including content from Television, the Nations, Children’s and Education, BBC Film and non-News related Sport.

For digital video content, eg content commissioned for YouTube or iPlayer only, certification is encouraged but not mandatory, but an albert carbon footprint is required.

In all categories limited exemptions apply for very short, low budget or acquired content.

Exemptions

We and albert understand that each production is unique and what can be delivered in terms of sustainability will vary. The nature of individual titles, the location and size of the company, and the surrounding production infrastructure will all affect the availability and viability of certain actions. The below is a rough guide to exemptions:

• Where the total programme rights license fee (PRLF) for the entire project (all episodes) is £50,000 or less.
• Where the PRLF is over £50,000 but the total, aggregated duration of the programmes or entire series is under 15 minutes.
• Acquisitions.
• Programmes made entirely from archive footage and reversions involving post-production only, with no specially shot material.
• Co-productions where the BBC is a minority funder (providing less than 50% of the budget): certification is encouraged but not mandatory.
• Foreign based indies: are encouraged to use albert or an equivalent local scheme if available in their territory, but certification is not mandatory. Find out more about albert international.
• Fast-turnaround and live programmes: can be certified, but we advise productions to get in touch with albert as soon as possible to discuss. If the speed of production means any of the criteria prove difficult to meet then they will be considered as part of albert’s 'best efforts' approach (see below).

Programmes which are exempt at the point of commission maintain their exemption, even if they subsequently fulfil the criteria for mandatory certification (for example by extending their length), as certification cannot be applied for retrospectively. For that reason, BAFTA’s albert advisors certify each production on a title by title basis according to how the company have delivered on that specific title, and the certification process allows for a 'best efforts' approach. This will be based on the producer influencing outcomes where they can and making the strongest sustainability choices possible, but understanding that ultimately there may be limitations that are outside of the producer’s control.

albert will not penalise producers for the following:

• A lack of facilities, or other restrictions, in a particular location where a production or company is based.
• Scenarios where clear barriers to emission reduction measures are the responsibility of others (or resolving these barriers would be part of a bigger infrastructure change).

In these cases, certification will not automatically be withheld. Instead, where the sustainable action is mandatory, evidence will be sought to demonstrate the producer has taken all measures that are reasonably within their control to address the barrier.

Albert certification

There are three core components to albert certification, all of which must be completed before certification can be granted:

1. Completing an albert carbon footprint to measure your emissions
2. Developing a carbon action plan to reduce your emissions and providing evidence of the actions taken
3. Productions commissioned before 2 January 2024 and delivering the final episode before 2 June 2024 must offset any residual emissions that can’t be eliminated.

When a production attains albert certification the albert logo can then be used in their programme endboard.

Both the carbon footprint and action plan should be discussed with the BBC commissioning representative as part of the commissioning process, and we encourage productions to include a line for sustainability in the production budget. As a minimum this should be the production’s estimated carbon footprint x £10.50 p/tonne of CO2e. Find ideas and advice about how this budget can be used to reduce the production’s environmental impact on the Commissioning website and see our specific Budgeting for sustainable productions page for further information.

We expect the senior members of a production team to lead on environmental sustainability. The albert process should be started as early as possible and the carbon action plan submitted before filming starts. Failure to do this risks the production’s ability to achieve certification. We recommend setting up a company albert account when a production is at the development stage and/or goes through the commissioning process.

Contact albert to set up an albert company account and logins for staff and see the resources section below for more information and useful contacts.

Once the production company has an albert account, one member of staff should be nominated as the main liaison for all things albert. This person can also develop the knowledge to guide successive productions.

Live or fast-turnaround programmes should contact albert for advice as soon as they can re the best process.

The albert carbon footprint is the first stage of gaining albert certification.

The carbon footprint form requires the input of data such as a production’s travel, accommodation, energy use in studios or on location, staffing and time in post-production. It's created using the albert carbon calculator.

Getting to know the information required in advance will make it easier to complete the final form.

We recommend completing the draft carbon footprint as soon as possible during pre-production, no matter how small the initial team. This will help when discussing sustainability plans with the BBC commissioning representative, inform decisions on how best to cut the production's carbon footprint, and when completing the final footprint form. It can be based on the draft budget and is an initial estimate only and can be refined during the production process.

The carbon footprint can either be regularly updated throughout the production process or completed in one go at the end. However, collecting the information throughout the production process will make it significantly easier to fill in the final form.

The calculator can be found at https://calc.wearealbert.org.

The completed carbon footprint form must be checked and approved by the production company’s nominated albert reviewer for accuracy. It will then be automatically directed to an external auditor for a standard assurance review. Once audited and approved, the nominated albert reviewer will receive an automated email from albert@bafta.org with 'Final carbon footprint has been approved' in the subject line.

It is then the production company’s responsibility to forward this email to their BBC delivery contact. This must be done within six weeks of the final episode delivery, and ideally at the point of delivery.

Completing the carbon action plan

The carbon action plan helps productions identify how they can reduce their emissions. It should only be submitted to albert once the programme editorial is confirmed, as it can’t be updated.

Producers must begin the albert carbon action plan process in pre-production or they are unlikely to gain certification, resulting in a failure to achieve the BBCs mandatory requirement.

To begin, the senior team in the production should talk through the list of yes/no starter questions. These should be considered and answered based on what the senior team judge to be achievable actions. These answers will help identify where environmental actions can be embedded and will form the basis of the production’s carbon action plan. Find advice, ideas and tips for reducing carbon emissions and the environmental impact of your production on the Commissioning website.

Please note, albert does not certify productions that use domestic flights within mainland UK, unless under exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances include medical emergencies, child safeguarding issues, and unavoidable disruptions to alternative transport such as strikes or extreme weather. Where a production believes it may be impossible to deliver a project without the use of domestic flights this should be discussed with the commissioner as soon as possible.

Once a title has been commissioned/green lit, but before filming has begun, the completed online carbon action plan is submitted to albert. albert will then respond with a request for evidence of the decarbonisation actions taken, which needs to be gathered during the production process. Providing evidence is a key component of the albert carbon action plan process, and not doing so will result in failure to achieve certification.

We therefore recommend that productions set up a shared ‘green evidence folder’ which can be accessed by the whole production team. All evidence can then be uploaded in one place by the different members of the team, reducing the burden of gathering any outstanding information at the end of production, which can often be hard to find retrospectively.

The carbon action plan can be found at https://calc.wearealbert.org.

Submitting the carbon action plan evidence

The completed online carbon action plan must be submitted to albert before filming has begun. albert will then respond with a request for evidence of the decarbonisation actions taken.

A minimum of 60% of the evidence should be submitted before the end of the offline edit so albert can check it and issue the logo in time to include in the programme’s end credits. Note, albert typically require a minimum of two weeks between the receipt of evidence and the issuing of the albert logo, though there is some flexibility specifically for fast-turnaround programmes if discussed in advance.

Up to 40% of the carbon action plan evidence can be provided after post-production and after the carbon footprint has been submitted.

Offsetting

Productions commissioned before 2 January 2024 that are already in production and due to deliver their final episode before 2 June 2024 must offset their emissions. Productions commissioned after 2 January or delivering their final episode after 2 June are not required to offset their emissions and are instead encouraged to include a specific line for sustainability in their budgets. We recommend that as a minimum this is the amount that would previously have been ringfenced for offsetting, ie the production’s estimated carbon footprint x £10.50 p/tonne of CO2e. Find ideas and advice about how this budget can be used to reduce the production’s environmental impact on the Commissioning website and see our specific Budgeting for sustainable productions page for further information.

To estimate a production’s carbon footprint use one of the methods below:

1. Use the draft carbon footprint figure and a cost of £10.50 per CO2e tonne of emissions.
2. Use the estimator tool on albert’s Creative Offsets website.
3. Base it on the average figure of 0.1% of a production’s overall budget (this % can vary by genre).

For those productions still in scope for offsetting, when the final footprint is completed at the end of the production the accurate offset cost can be calculated, recorded in the production budget, and paid.

All independent production companies should either pay their offset via BAFTA albert’s Creative Offsets programme, at a cost of £10.50 per tonne CO2e, or by choosing a verified offsetting scheme of their own. Productions will be eligible for certification when the offset cost is paid and receipt provided as evidence to albert.

Gaining certification and albert logo

Once the carbon footprint and carbon action plan evidence have been submitted for review and the offsetting costs are paid productions will be assessed by albert based on:

• How many of the agreed actions in the action plan have been implemented.
• The quality of their evidence.
• The level of sustainability achieved - indicated by the star rating awarded based on questions answered (between one and three stars).

After receiving albert certification productions can use the albert certification logo on their programme endboard to show that sustainable best practices have been embedded in the production. A production must have completed the entire albert certification process (footprint, carbon action plan and offsetting) to be eligible to use the logo. To enable this the carbon footprint and action plan should therefore be completed and submitted before the final offline edit.

The logo will be provided by albert. Please see the Credits and branding page for logo positioning.

Productions must forward the albert certification confirmation email to their BBC delivery contact within six weeks of final episode delivery.

Contact the albert team at BAFTA on albert@bafta.org. If your production is struggling to understand the process or over specific requirements please consult the albert on-line resources or contact the albert team at BAFTA directly.

The BBC’s Sustainability team is also here to help if you have any questions. Contact the team on albert@bbc.co.uk. 

We have a wealth of additional resources to help productions be more sustainable on and off-screen including an end-to-end production guide, top tips for reducing carbon emissions, ideas for how to reflect environmental bahaviours on-screen, production case studies, a guide to the science behind climate change and advice on budgeting for sustainable productions. See the sustainability homepage for further information.

Best practice guidance, recommendations, case studies and useful tips for making productions sustainable can also be found on the albert website, along with information about how to document and evidence the sustainability within a production and how to complete the albert carbon footprint calculator.

The BAFTA albert Consortium offers free training covering the big picture of climate change, what it means for the TV industry and what individuals can do to make a difference. Book a place via the albert website. We recommend the free online training courses 'sustainable production' or 'sustainability in editorial'. These two hour courses can be booked via the albert website.

Find general delivery contacts at the BBC on the contacts page.

Please note the BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.