Sustainable Video Production from Toast

Effective date: July 2019 (Updated January 2023)

This Sustainable Video Production Policy details the measures undertaken by Toast TV Ltd. We aim to lessen the impact our productions and related activities have on the climate. It also describes what initiatives Toast has in place. We must ensure sustainability in video production is at the core of what we do.

Sustainable efforts at Toast

This policy is not a greenwashing exercise. We understand the hurdles involved in making the video production industry a sustainable business. Some of the challenges we face are currently difficult to overcome.

Still, industry innovation and seeking best practices are better alternatives to simply overlooking our impact on environmental issues. Hoping the problems facing the planet go away is no longer an option.

Toast is committed to deconstructing previously completed projects to gain an understanding of the impact each one has. We will analyse each area of pre-production, filming and post-production to spot opportunities where we can improve. We use these learnings in future projects to constantly hone our workflow to become a more sustainable video production company.

Principles

These principles are critical to our sustainability policy:

To become an industry leader in the field of sustainable video production.
To build sustainability into all our business decisions.
To make sure all our staff and contractors understand how vital our sustainability policy is to Toast.
Drive down the impact that Toast has on the environment.
We will review our working practises annually and learn from our failures to constantly improve our sustainability goals.

Practical steps to be more environmentally sustainable:

Office and working environments:

When using computer equipment, each employee or contractor will ensure that their equipment meets ENERGY STAR® guidelines for energy efficiency. Disk drives will sleep after 30 minutes idling, and monitors to sleep within 15 minutes.
Use cloud storage systems that have positive sustainability goals. Google Drive is the primary storage system for Toast production documents. Google has already announced that it is carbon neutral for our operations.
Toast will support working from home where possible. Employees will be encouraged to use renewable energy suppliers to cover energy usage at home.
Reduce the amount of paper used in productions by using electronic copies of documents where possible. Emailed Call sheets and production documents will be our first option.
Toast’s main office locations will be supplied by renewable energy suppliers (where energy contracts come up for renewal.)

Productions and Filming:

Toast commits to using lighting and equipment suppliers that offer sustainable products as part of their offering.
We will choose suppliers that can deliver equipment using EV delivery trucks when available.
We will where creatively appropriate, use lighting systems providing efficiencies of >80 lumens per watt.
We commit to saving production lights during lunch and breaks between takes. Studio lights are to be used during set breakdown and clear up.
Plan for recycling any props or consumables used in television productions.
Use recyclable food containers and reusable water bottles on set.

Rechargeable batteries will be used for any equipment needing a mobile power source.

Travel and meetings

We will avoid travel to meetings where alternatives, including Zoom or Google Meet, are available and creatively appropriate.
Reduce the need for our staff members and contractors to travel by supporting work from home initiatives.
Toast will provide access to cycle-to-work schemes for all employees after 12 months of continuous employment.
We will conduct multiple meetings on set travel days where travel is needed. These travel days will limit the amount of necessary travel and reduce our carbon footprint.
Build sustainable development into our movement orders during productions.

Learning and Improving

In January each year, we will pick three productions including the following types: live-action, animation and one hybrid production.
We will then interrogate each type of production and build a sustainable film production benchmark.
Each year will aim to lower our carbon impact on each production type by 10% over the previous year.
Where carbon emissions are challenging to lower further, we will educate clients on alternative methods. We will offer creative approaches that use more sustainable practices.
We continue to push to be the best supplier of sustainable advertising.