Our commitment to sustainable production
Every film we make has a footprint. The travel, the power, the kit, the catering, the waste. We think it's our job to understand that footprint and bring it down, shoot by shoot, without compromising the work. Sustainability isn't a bolt-on at Summit Films; it's part of how we plan, crew and deliver every production.
We know the brands and agencies we work with are being asked to account for the impact of their supply chains, and that increasingly includes the content they commission. We want to make that easy. When you work with us, you're working with a production partner who is already measuring, already reducing, and happy to share the numbers.
How we Work
We look for the biggest wins first, and most of them come early. Decisions made at the script and planning stage — where we shoot, who travels, what we build — shape the vast majority of a production's carbon impact. So we start those conversations at the bid stage, not on the shoot day.
In practice, that means favouring locations that keep travel and freight down, and shooting locally wherever the brief allows. It means crewing close to the shoot, encouraging travel by rail and public transport, and choosing hybrid or electric vehicles when we can. We prioritise studios and locations running on renewable energy, use mains power or battery units before diesel generators, and switch to low-energy lighting. On set we run a genuine no-idling policy for vehicles, keep things switched off when they're not in use, and design builds to be smaller, smarter and reusable rather than sent to landfill.
We aim for as little waste as possible in the first place, then sort, recycle and compost what's left. Catering leans plant-forward, drinking water comes from refill points rather than single-use plastic, and set builds, props and costume are reused, rehomed or recycled once we wrap. Through post-production we favour energy-efficient kit and renewable-powered facilities, and we work paperless as standard.
None of this is at the expense of the film. We've found the opposite tends to be true. Working within sensible constraints usually sharpens the creative thinking rather than limiting it.
Measuring what matters: our AdGreen commitment
Good intentions only count if you can prove them, so we measure. Summit Films is committed to using the AdGreen carbon calculator on our productions. AdGreen is the advertising industry's shared tool for understanding the carbon and waste impact of production, used across the UK and internationally, and it gives us a consistent, credible way to record the real footprint of a shoot rather than guessing at it.
We use the calculator from the outset. At the planning and bid stage we use its Early Insights to compare options, like shooting locally versus travelling, live action versus VFX , so we can make informed choices before a single decision is locked in. Then we record the final footprint of the production once we wrap, covering everything from transport and energy to catering, materials and data storage.
The benefit for you is transparency. We can share the impact of your production, show where the emissions came from, and use that data to make the next one better. Over time it lets both of us track progress with real figures, not good intentions.
Working Together
We can only take a production so far on our own. The best results come from working with clients, agencies, crew and suppliers who want the same thing. We're always happy to talk through what's possible on a given brief, whether that's joining sessions remotely instead of flying, adjusting a location, or building sustainability into the story on screen. If reducing the footprint of your next production matters to you, it matters to us. Let's make something great, and make it responsibly.