With sustainability playing an increasingly key part in TV and film production, one of the industry’s most enduring and resilient genres is leading the way when it comes to pioneering greener ways of working. If you can do it on a soap without derailing the moving train that has to produce hundreds of episodes a year, you can do it anywhere.
“Soaps are a bit of an outlier in the industry because they are ongoing,” begins Holdgate, speaking exclusively to Radio Times. “That allows you to try things on a short-, medium- and long-term basis which is almost impossible on other genres. Often, you don’t know if a programme will be recommissioned so it’s harder to put plans in place.
"The teams on a soap are open to trying new things and discovering the benefits, which can then be shared with wider production teams and the external industry.”
Being the nation’s longest-running dramas, Corrie and Emmerdale were quickly identified as guinea pigs to apply early carbon footprint calculators and trial more environmentally friendly working practices.
“Emmerdale has a different inbuilt challenge in that there’s a 10-mile gap between the interior studios in Leeds and the exterior village set, so more transport is required to get from A to B.
"Both productions have implemented electric vehicles in the fleet at a faster rate than the wider industry, as we’ve been able to implement a long-term strategy. Apart from that, each show has similar issues with regard to sustainability and constantly share knowledge and exchange experiences.”
View oEmbed on the source websiteBy 2020, it had helped ITV sign off on its net zero commitment as a business and set out its green targets as a corporation – leading to the creation of Holdgate’s position as an all-seeing eye over the company’s sustainability culture and responsibilities.
“ITV Studios is very much a commercial producer and part of a corporate business, but we can’t just throw money at things and hope to fix them,” he candidly admits. “With my accountant head on you need to look at what’s good for the bottom line, what’s also good for the planet, and what’s good for people working on the shows. I feel like sustainability encompasses all three things, and I personally try to implement that across our approach.
As a lifelong soap fan who started out as a runner on Emmerdale in his teens, Holdgate admits these shows are close to his heart, so it’s no coincidence how integral they are to ITV’s sustainability efforts. The aforementioned Green Teams remain a vital part of Emmerdale and Corrie’s infrastructure, as Holdgate proudly extols.
"Half the energy for Emmerdale’s Leeds building comes from solar power, which wouldn’t be possible without having low-energy lighting. Both productions reuse sets and costumes as much as they can. Removing single-use coffee cups and replacing with mugs was another simple, incremental switch that made a huge difference.
Similarly, BAFTA Albert brings the ITV soaps together with contemporaries EastEnders and Hollyoaks to discuss issues affecting the whole genre. “Having them convene industry-wide conversations is absolutely vital, I’m pleased we have that platform. If we’re struggling with something there are dedicated experts we can swap notes with.
"Often there are systemic shifts that affect everyone, last year an initiative called Spark was launched to stop the industry using diesel generators and onto clean technology by 2030. A road map was created to push us all in the same direction. Collaboration and openness like that keeps the whole conversation ticking along.”
Add Radio Times as a Preferred Source on Google Keep up to date on what’s worth watching with your favourite entertainment news from Radio Times – see more of our exclusive news and interviews featured prominently in Top Stories when using Google.
“You can see that sense of progress,” smiles Holdgate. “An embedded culture of sustainability ripples through both soaps, on and off screen. It’s become business as usual for them and shows where British society is at.”
“We’ve spent a lot of time and effort looking at the risk of climate change to ITV as a business. The number one risk by a long way is the impact of extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent and severe. Soaps are incredibly resilient and agile, they can quickly adjust and reset. We want to protect their longevity and ensure they can adapt and mitigate to the impact of climate change, that is super important to us.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm and Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1. Both can be streamed from 7am that day on ITVX.
Add Coronation Street and Emmerdale to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Hence then, the article about emmerdale and coronation street s sustainability expert reveals why soap operas have always been tv s greenest genre was published today ( ) and is available on Radio Times ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Emmerdale and Coronation Street's sustainability expert reveals why soap operas have always been TV’s greenest genre )
Also on site :