BU and BAFTA Albert partnership helps students shape the future of sustainable practices
This year, students from the Faculty of Media & Communication will benefit from BU’s partnership with BAFTA Albert for the third year running. The partnership, from environmental organisation Albert, who encourage the TV and film industry to reduce its carbon footprint, will help students develop the necessary skills to shape the future of sustainable practices in the media industry. In addition, future modern narrative, documentary, and other media projects will address the prevalent topic of eco-living in a creative form.
BU has partnered with BAFTA Albert since 2019 to champion a green agenda in media practices. 70 students studying either an undergraduate or postgraduate degree within the Faculty of Media & Communication have completed the certification this year.
Current BA (Hons) Film student, Horace Tang, said: “With this certificate, it shows we are equipped to work in a sustainable way, a valuable mission led by Albert. It is my responsibility to bring this knowledge to the crews I work with, encouraging sustainable practices whilst on set.”
For the certificate, students complete a series of exercises demonstrating that they understand the science of climate change and are able to calculate carbon emissions using the Albert calculator. It also aims to teach students how to make impactful decisions to reduce the carbon footprint by applying alternative sustainable practices.
James Fair, Principal Academic in TV and Film Production, said: “Students gain skills in understanding their productions carbon footprint, a skill which the industry needs in their practitioners. It’s a demand which has developed in the last five years.
“The world’s increasing carbon emissions continue to be a huge conversation, with many asking ‘what can I do?’ and ‘how can I help?’. The media industry has identified a responsibility in understanding their role to reduce emissions in their practice, and also addressing these topics through various media forms to mass audiences. We have an opportunity to present, and inspire, alternative ways of living. Great examples include Top Gear reviewing more hybrid and electric vehicles.”
Tang concludes, “We are all a part of this world; we are all responsible for it.”
