Illustration by Violet Reed
While plastic waste explodes amid the pandemic, remote work has reduced greenhouse gas emissions and many companies are embracing such practices as paperless call sheets and battery generators.
For the past decade, sustainability in Hollywood has revolved around a handful of environmental pillars: reducing waste, conserving energy, curbing the carbon footprint and donating leftover food and goods. Then came COVID-19. So many of the advances that we ve had especially around craft services have just been shattered, says Environmental Media Association CEO Debbie Levin, who has worked with studios on their green practices since 2003. The pandemic has overturned what once was considered de rigueur for many film and TV productions: Sets are axing reusable water bottles and going back to single-use; shifting buffet-style craft services tables to individual meals wrapped in plastic; restricting food and clothing donations because of possible contamina