Originally created at the BBC, the calculator has now been ‘adopted’ by BAFTA who have brought together a powerful Consortium of broadcasters and independent production houses to make Albert available to the wider TV industry.
The Consortium was formed in early 2011, with Twofour’s Group MD, Mark Hawkins the first to invest time and money in this collaborative project. He was closely followed to the table by Talkback Thames, IMG, Kudos, ITV Studios, Shine TV, Channel 4 and Sky, all of whom have been instrumental in designing an industry-friendly Albert which will appeal to production teams.
Albert has a new look, thanks to the design team at Aerian Studios, new functionality, courtesy of Sharepoint City and robust statistical data, provided by AMEE and audited by Mason Hardy. Microsoft is generously providing unlimited licences to use the calculator in its first year and the portal will be hosted by Outsourcery.
The aims of the project are simple but powerful. Overtime the carbon calculator will allow production companies to build up valuable data on the carbon footprint of TV productions and strategically plan how to build sustainability into the production process. Over time, and as more companies join the project, Albert will be able to provide robust information on just how sustainable the TV industry is and where we need to take steps to reduce energy consumption.
Albert is a powerful benchmarking tool, but ultimately it is just a tool. It won't cut your carbon for you - but it points you to where you can make reductions and draws a line in the sand for you to work from.
The BAFTA Consortium hope that Albert will become a focal point for addressing wider concerns around sustainability in the production industry in the UK and maybe even globally. Although already mandatory for most programme makers at the BBC, wider success will depend on take-up by the rest of the industry.
Albert will be free to use during 2012, if not longer. So if your company wants to do its bit for the planet - and save money in the process, Albert is the place to start.
For more info go to www.bafta.org/albert
