Fatima El Hajjaji
Film PR & Location Lead
Mountain landscapes, medieval villages, lakes and forests make South Tyrol a particularly versatile filming location, with a natural and scenic heritage of great value. For this reason, IDM Film & Music Commission supports productions in reducing resource consumption and the environmental impacts associated with filming through concrete measures.
One of the tools used to support this objective is the “Green Shooting” certification process, a system that guides productions in the planning, implementation and verification of concrete measures throughout the different stages of their project.
The system includes a set of criteria divided into seven areas: communication, energy, mobility and accommodation, catering, materials, waste management and Green Innovation. Points are awarded for the measures implemented and contribute towards reaching the threshold required to obtain certification.
How the certification works
To start the certification process as part of an application for funding from IDM Film & Music Commission, productions must submit a completed Green Shooting Checklist. In the checklist, the production sets out the concrete measures planned for filming in South Tyrol.
A qualified Green Consultant must be involved from the preparation stage onwards. Green Consultants trained in South Tyrol are familiar with the protocols and certification schemes recognised by IDM and can support productions in planning, implementing and documenting the relevant requirements.
Compliance with the stated criteria is verified by an independent body. The verification process may include, among other things, a review of the documentation, discussions with the Green Consultant and on-set inspections.
If a production achieves at least 60% of the maximum score available for the measures applicable to the project and meets all mandatory criteria, the Provincial Agency issues the “Green Shooting” certificate once the verification process has been completed. The certificate confirms compliance with the criteria defined under the Green Shooting certification process.
Recognised protocols
To support productions in the planned and documented reduction of environmental impacts during filming in South Tyrol, IDM Film & Music Commission Südtirol offers the option of following one of the following protocols:
Productions that follow one of these protocols for filming in South Tyrol must provide the competent certification body with the information and documentation required for verification. This includes, in particular, timely notification of filming days and the documentation required once filming has been completed.
For the Green Shooting process, the guidelines already provide for documentation of the measures implemented, at least one on-set inspection, a final report and a completed final checklist.
A CO₂ calculator adapted to South Tyrol-specific parameters is available to support Green Consultants. The tool can be used to calculate a project’s greenhouse gas emissions, expressed as CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e), within the defined calculation boundaries and to identify the areas with the highest emissions.
When communicating the results, the calculation method, system boundaries and emission factors used should be specified, as well as the relevant reference or baseline scenario where comparisons are made.
IDM complements the Green Shooting process with workshops and training programmes for Green Consultants. IDM is also a member of the European CineRegio network and its GreenRegio working group.
These activities aim to promote the exchange and development of knowledge on concrete measures to reduce resource consumption and environmental impacts in film productions.