The animation industry is finally getting its own environmental certification, and it's about time. While live-action films have had programs like Green Film and the U.K.'s Albert and Ecoprod's Carbon Clap calculator to measure and certify their eco-friendliness, nothing similar has existed for animation, despite its significant environmental cost. Personally, I think this is a huge step forward for the industry, and it's fascinating to see how this new certification program, ANiMPACT, is addressing the unique challenges of measuring and reducing the environmental impact of animation.
A Long-Overdue Certification
What makes this particularly fascinating is that animation has often been overlooked in environmental discussions. As Luca Ferrario, who runs the Trentino Film Commission and helped build both Green Film and ANiMPACT, notes, "Animation was kind of left behind from every talk, every discussion, every tool." This is despite the fact that animation is a major part of the film and TV business, and it comes with its own environmental costs. In my opinion, this certification program is a necessary and welcome development, and it's great to see the industry taking steps to address this issue.
The Unique Challenges of Animation
One thing that immediately stands out is the complexity of measuring the environmental impact of animation. Unlike live-action films, which are often handled by one production crew in one place, a single animation project is often split across many different studios, countries, and outside vendors. This fragmentation makes it more difficult to manage and measure the total environmental impact of a project. Additionally, animation projects take much longer to complete, usually many years, which makes it harder to measure the total environmental impact.
What many people don't realize is that the single biggest environmental cost of animation comes from computers: the electricity used to run the workstations and servers that power rendering and other digital work. In fact, electricity alone accounts for roughly half of a typical production's environmental impact, with the rest coming from things like how long computer equipment lasts before it's replaced, digital data storage, and travel between studios in different countries for international co-productions.
The Certification Program
ANiMPACT is a new European certification program that aims to address these challenges. It's run jointly by three organizations: CineRegio, Ecoprod, and Green Film. The program officially launched at the international animation film festival in Annecy in June, after two years of work and a public feedback period that drew responses from more than 100 organizations in 18 countries. The program is designed to be a shared European standard, rather than a collection of separate, competing systems, which is what happened when environmental certification for live-action film first developed in different countries.
The certification system is built around seven broad areas: how a company is run and its social responsibility practices; its office buildings and energy use; its digital workflow and data storage; travel; food; merchandise; and how it communicates about sustainability. Studios can be assessed both as individual projects and as companies, and each standard is weighted by how much environmental impact it actually has, with some counting as required and others as optional extra credit. This approach allows for a more nuanced and effective measurement of environmental impact.
The Importance of Certification
If you take a step back and think about it, the importance of this certification program cannot be overstated. For studios and producers, the main reason to bother with certification, aside from saving the planet, is money. A growing number of public film funds, at the regional, national, and European level, now offer financial incentives for productions that can prove they're environmentally responsible, and some are starting to make it a requirement rather than a bonus. This shift has already changed how live-action productions are budgeted and planned, and organizers expect the same to happen in animation.
One detail that I find especially interesting is that a real certification, unlike a company simply claiming to be sustainable, requires an outside auditor to check the work. This is very important for public funding, as it ensures that the claims being made are actually valid and can be verified by an independent third party. It's also a key reason why many funds are asking for or giving incentives for certification.
The Future of Animation Certification
What this really suggests is that the future of animation certification is bright, and it's likely to become more widespread and effective over time. As AI use in animation grows, for example, the environmental requirements of the certification program will likely be updated to reflect this. Additionally, as more studios and producers adopt the program, it will become easier to measure and reduce the environmental impact of animation projects.
In conclusion, the launch of ANiMPACT is a significant development for the animation industry, and it's a step in the right direction towards a more sustainable future. While there are still challenges to be addressed, the program has the potential to make a real difference, and it's exciting to see the industry taking action on this important issue.
