The 13 Best Sustainable Production Resources for Filmmakers in 2025 (…and beyond)

As experts continue to study climate change and how it affects our ecosystem, most industries are trying to find ways to increase their sustainability by examining their work flow. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the film and TV industry, that of endless plastic water bottles, greenhouse gas-spewing production vehicles, and box after box after busload of paper.

But not all are resigned to a future of war-torn dust bowl MAD MAX-type proportions, at least not yet, as many filmmakers and producers are taking steps to create art without creating endless, pointless waste.

If you’re a filmmaker wanting to help the environment as you make your media, you’d be hard pressed to find better tools than these sustainable production resources:

“When you’ve done your best, we do the rest,” says EcoSet’s reDirect initiative, a sustainable production resource focused on providing production and events with an Zero Waste alternative to dumpsters and landfills. This environmental production resource provides creative industries with solutions to lessen their waste, taking those hard-to-store items like old costumes or set walls and giving them a second life in the community. Companies using EcoSet not only save in storage costs, but help contribute to a creative circular economy.

Los Angeles area schools, artists, or anyone looking for free materials for their next project can also take advantage of their Materials Oasis — a totally free reuse center making the most of their conservation goals.

These forces in sustainability recently formed a partnership to help lead the worlds’ green-tech progress. Originally EarthAngel (founded in 2011) helped provide sustainable production practices in Hollywood, while The Green Shot focused on a tech-driven sustainability management from Europe. Together, they’re increasing their reach in both areas as EarthAngel by The Green Shot.

Pre-merger, EarthAngel has already aided feature films, TV series, commercials and live events in ways ranging from avoiding over 16,026 metric tons of CO2 to diverting over 19 million tons of waste since 2013. Adding the Green Shot’s digital expertise to their methods will only help clients better their efforts to reduce, reuse, and replenish.

Look into adding one of their Zero Waste kits to your production today.

This project from the Producers Guild of America (as part of the Sustainable Entertainment Alliance) provides an online toolkit meant to help productions of all sizes reduce their environmental strain and carbon footprint. And best of all… it’s totally free.

From providing a list of green vendors to downloads meant to help you track everything from plywood to carbon emissions, the Green Production Guide will help you see exactly where your project is impacting the environment most — while also tutoring you on how to lessen that impact.

You won’t be learning alone thanks to their extensive (and digital) Resource Library, where you’ll find all sorts of sustainable production resources through expert research, helpful signage, and informative spreadsheets to help communicate these practices to the rest of your crew.

Another program sponsored by the PGA, the Green Film School Alliance (GFSA) aims to bring film school programs the same level of sustainable production as it’s professional counterparts. What better place to learn than college, right?

Sporting a roster of over 30 top film schools, the GFSA encourages students from each partner to be ambassadors of the program, where they can share, initiate, and brainstorm new initiatives for all of tomorrow’s filmmakers — while still working to implement them today.

Contact gfsa@greenproductionguide.com if your school would like to join the GFSA — it could be far more helpful to the planet than filling your dorm’s recycling bin.

The film and TV industry can’t have all of the conservational fun, thanks to AdGreen’s focus on the advertising industry. Full of resources to aid ad-focused productions lessen their negative impact on the environment, this free service is focused on the bigger picture VS individual productions. By looking at the macro, AdGreen’s hubs in the UK, the US, and the Netherlands aim to educate through training, resources for reduction, and their Emissions Calculator — where any production office can obtain an idea of where their commercial can improve its output.

While not charging for their services, AdGreen does offer a voluntary levy for productions to help keep the resources available to all, giving leaders in sustainable production the chance to offer a different type of green contribution :-)

With film, TV, and advertising all having their own eco-friendly hubs the theatre wasn’t about to be left behind. Enter the Broadway Green Alliance (BGA) in 2008, setting out to implement green practices on the stages of Broadway — and beyond. While admitting a production being 100% green is incredibly difficult (one of their principles is ‘we can only be greener’), the BGA helped institute a charge to replace all of the Broadway marquees with more efficient LED and CFL bulbs. That change alone saves over 800 tons of carbon each year.

From implementing energy-efficient washers for costumes to switching to rechargable batteries for house mics, the BGA’s practices are shared nation-wide with over 1600 Green Captains leading the way in community, college, and regional theater productions. And if you are in the city, take advantage of their free binder exchange — keeping them out of landfills and encouraging re-use.

This BAFTA-backed organization is helping the UK’s productions reduce emissions and waste as they move toward a more sustainable industry. Guided by the Climate Action Blueprint, an easy-to-follow collection of ideas and thought points meant to fuel a greener future, albert is in many ways leading the charge of what a environmentally conscious media industry can be.

Check out their recently launched albert Academy, an easy to navigate hub of some of their best aids and content, including interactive 90 minute workshops to get you started on your conservation.

Founded by Zena Harris in 2016, the SPF focuses on providing a place to discuss sustainability efforts in an interactive and engaged community as an offshoot of Canada’s Sustainable Entertainment Society. Offering both in-person and virtual forums each year, the SPF aims to inspire change through lively storytelling and the generous sharing of ideas and practices.

Are you creating a project and not sure how to fit in your sustainable message? Then consult with Good Energy Stories, a non-profit providing storytellers with ideas both big and small for integrating thematic climate change narratives into their work. That is the goal of Founder & CEO Anna Jane Joyner, who promises users, “The most important thing is to do what you do best: tell a damn good story. We’ll help with the rest.“

The New York Times dubbed them “Hollywood’s Climate Advisor”, and with resources ranging from direct story consulting to workshops and research opportunities, their impact on screen is helping environment through their bevy of sustainable production resources. Also check out their Playbook for Screenwriting in the Age of Climate Change, an open-source digital resource for bringing climate change to screen with character descriptions, psychology, and all the up-to-date climate science you can to line your scripts with.

With a motto of ‘livable sustainability’, the Green Eyes consultancy service analyzes a productions’ full lifespan, from script page to post suite. Having already worked with 16 productions, their work has replaced 1.5 million disposable water bottles and created over 50 tons of composted food (that’s a lot of leftover breakfast burritos).

Green Eyes offers a wide swath of services for the eco-minded individual or studio, from script consulting to training, to full on energy audits and waste management. This one-stop shop for sustainable filmmaking has already been featured on Alien: Romulus, Hijack, and Dune: Prophecy.