EastEnders' Series Co-ordinator, Suzanne Dolan explains how the show has achieved its Albert + accreditation.
Tonight’s episode of EastEnders might have looked a little bit different, greener even. I’m not talking about the lush spring allotments but the badge at the end of the credits which shows EastEnders has achieved the albert+ certification for its efforts in sustainable production. We are delighted to have achieved the highest award possible in this industry-wide scheme, especially because it’s something we have been working very hard on for some time now.
It was in 2009 when EastEnders first began to collect data from across the production, from light bulbs to paint pots and hotel rooms to mileage, to help ascertain what EastEnders carbon footprint was through a carbon calculator BBC sustainability had built alongside the Energy Saving Trust. This calculator then went on to be launched as Albert and has now become an industry standard.
Since then we have been on our Eco-Enders crusade! Changes along the way have been big and small and have all amounted to us achieving our top sustainability award today. Some of the initial changes we made include: eradicating polystyrene cups, getting recycling bins installed, installing hot mains water urns into our studios, taking steps to improve the recycling rate from the site, switching from single serve plastic coffee filters to reusable flask coffee filters and printing blue scripts double sided and running internal campaigns to encourage staff to be aware of energy waste.
We made our biggest leap in early 2014 when two new studios were built for EastEnders and we were able to equip them with brand new low energy lighting. The energy savings on these studios have been amazing. It’s given us a saving of approximately 90,000 kwh per year. Or the equivalent of one person taking 50 return flights from London to New York. Albert+ was then launched later that year and was described as 'The diet plan' of your carbon footprint. And while at EastEnders we may have some advantages over other programmes because we have been running for so long this also means that we have some systems and processes that have been embedded for 30 years that we have had to consider so Albert+ has really helped focused our efforts.
Another of our biggest achievements was running a carbon literacy course that was attended by Heads of Departments. While it might have been difficult taking a day away from the office, every single person left the course slightly aghast at what they'd learned about the urgency of climate change and really understood how everyone needs to play their role in taking responsibility for sustainability, both in their personal lives and in the workplace. Following the course we set up a steering group with a representative from every EastEnders department that meet quarterly to engage, motivate and share all our sustainability projects and ideas.
On our premises we have dramatically reduced our paper usage, by 50% across script and other weekly documents, and across all other paper usage it has been cut by 20% - together this has saved 1000 reams. We now use recycled paper and other recycled stationary as standard. Some of our pens are made from recycled water bottles and we intend to continue to reduce the paper usage across other widely distributed documents.
We have also made changes around online working and no longer issue rushes on DVD and instead work online, saving 2500 DVD’s per year as well as saving on the road transport emissions associated with delivering them. We recycle costumes, sets and paint and paste pots from design. Our BBC car provider uses low emission vehicles and we are looking at taking a smaller generator out on location to be more efficient with the fuel we burn. We have also spread the word to our suppliers by requesting their own company’s eco policies and have brought them along on the journey with us. Our caterers are no longer allowed to use polystyrene cups and must provide recycling on location.
Here at EastEnders, we know that sustainability needs to be ingrained in our culture if we are all to do our bit in taking responsibility and preserving the world as we know it for future generations. And for us, this is just the beginning! We are proud to have just achieved our 3 stars for Albert + but know there are even more ambitious and exciting changes on the horizon.
