Lights, Camera, Glasgow: Making Glasgow’s Film Scene Greener

Behind the scenes of filming. Photo by Jesus Loves Austin on Unsplash

Scotland is a frequently seen face, but little heard voice, in the film industry, with Glasgow being one of the most popular cities on this side of the Atlantic for big-budget international productions to film. This summer alone, the city centre was transformed into New York for Indiana Jones 5, the Necropolis into Gotham for The Batman. In previous years, the city was a prominent backdrop for Fast & Furious 6 (2012), World War Z (2013), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and innumerable television series.

The Glasgow Film Office, from whom all productions must seek approval to film in the city, describes Glasgow as “a premier UK centre for film and TV production”, and there are, of course, benefits, both cultural and economical, to Glasgow’s prominence in the film sector. Jennifer Reynolds, Film Commissioner at the Glasgow Film Office, says: “The main benefit is the direct economic impact of filming in the city - local crew, facilities and services are hired, visiting crew are housed in hotels, local supplies are obtained, etc. An indirect effect is the buzz created around large feature films in Glasgow, with people coming into town to see the filming activity and availing of local hospitality while in town.”

But an increasing concern in the film industry is the impact on the environment. The discussion around sustainability and environmentalism in the film industry is a relatively new one, with changes slow to be enacted, despite the fact that big-budget blockbusters, many of which are at least partly filmed in Scotland, produce around 2,840 tonnes of carbon dioxide per production. A film set is no small thing, and a street or sometimes a whole section of the city needs to be cornered off in order for the crew to get the most out of their location, meaning traffic frequently needs to take longer routes around the closed area. “Location filming, like those seen over the summer, must obtain legal road closures to provide a safe working space for crew,” says Reynolds. “This creates an impact on the road network and all regular users of the network (taxis, buses, etc) are notified directly by Glasgow City Council.  All residents and businesses directly affected by filming (i.e., within and immediately adjacent to the closure area) are notified by the production directly so that any issues can be addressed.” 

In the US there remains no mandatory requirements for productions to operate using sustainable practices, and that includes on international productions as well as within the studios. In the UK, all studio-backed productions now hire an Environmental Manager to be present on set as part of the crew to constantly review the sustainability of the production’s activities such as waste management and energy usage, although the sustainability measures employed by British studios are not so widespread amongst independent productions. Reynolds adds: “The process of location filming itself is energy intensive as it relies on the use of generators on site, temporary sets, location catering, etc. There are tools available for a production to calculate its environmental impact and which also offer suggestions on how to reduce the impact or to offset its effect. As it stands, we don’t have to the tools to directly measure a productions impact on the city’s carbon footprint, however Glasgow Film Office is keen to offer ways in which productions can be more environmentally aware of their carbon footprint and share best practice amongst productions.”