Published 26th June 2024

Aardman Environmental and Sustainability Update, June 2024

Aardman is committed to publicly communicating every 12 months our environmental goals and achievements. This follows the publication of our Environmental and Sustainability Charter in June 2023.

PROGRESS MADE IN THE PREVIOUS TWELVE MONTHS (June 2023 – May 2024)

Over the past 12 months, the majority of our efforts have gone into measuring the studio’s emissions for the operating year 2022 across Scopes 1, 2 and 3, working with our appointed Environmental Consultants, Eight Versa.

Scope 3 emissions are those resulting from activities of organisations we work with and not controlled directly by the studio. Measuring these emissions represents a major undertaking and it is one we are committed to in order to achieve greater impact in the future.

In addition, we have made the following progress against the goals set out in our Charter:

  • Published our Environmental and Sustainability Charter on our website and communicated its contents within the business at Town Hall meetings.

  • Shared outcomes from our first Carbon Footprint Report working with Eight Versa, as indicated in our Charter.

  • Attained Carbon Measured certification, reflecting the studio’s commitment to show consistency and transparency in our carbon emissions reporting. This certification is a formal endorsement of work in progress and our ongoing commitment towards a low carbon emissions future.

  • Following our carbon footprint reporting across the business for the operating year 2022, we have identified key areas to help with future data collection and analysis, as well as key areas to focus our carbon reduction strategies and to improve our year-on-year reporting.

  • Resulting from our Scope 3 emissions measurements, we have begun to set up strategy groups to identify the emission-reducing measures that can be taken in areas not owned or controlled by Aardman e.g. through our suppliers and licensees.

  • Provided Production Sustainability training for teams working on upcoming productions. This was delivered by the BAFTA albert Consortium, which supports the film and TV industry to reduce production teams’ impact on the environment and embed sustainable production values within projects.

  • Encouraged ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ across the studio in ways that are specific to our business operations, for example reusing character puppets from a previous production in subsequent projects.
PRIORITIES FOR THE COMING TWELVE MONTHS (JUNE 2024 – MAY 2025)

In 2025, we will set the studio’s target timeframe by which we will achieve ‘Net Zero’ across the business. At this point we will have three full years of accurate and comprehensive emissions reporting to inform a target which is both ambitious and realistic.

In the coming 12 months we will also focus on the following areas:

  • Hold a Town Hall for our staff in September, during which we will communicate our latest efforts to meet our E&S goals to Partners.

  • Conclude work to identify the four key areas of the business which contribute the most to overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and form strategy groups to work towards reducing emissions in these areas.

  • Compile the studio’s Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) regulations report and submit notification of compliance in September 2024.

  • Set ambitious carbon reduction targets for the future, initially covering Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

  • Improve data collection and implement reduction strategies in the Scope 3 area of ‘Purchased Goods and Services & Capital Goods’, undertaking the following activities:
    • Initiate conversations with the studio’s biggest suppliers around their environmental performance and reporting.
    • Standardise procurement processes to ensure that supplier environmental performance is considered whenever the business procures good and services.
    • Provide training on sustainable procurement processes for Partners involved in this work.
    • Develop an approved Sustainable Supplier list that all Partners can refer to.

  • Develop a Business Travel Policy to include:
    • Assessment of business travel criticality and approval process.
    • Drive the use of more sustainable modes of transport.
    • The booking of travel through a green-conscious vendor.
    • More detailed recording of data on all travel journeys to improve the accuracy of data for reporting.

  • Undertake the studio’s annual employee commuting survey and take the following actions:
    • Regularly review Partner commuting profiles.
    • Encourage sustainable transport options.
    • Ensure facilities support sustainable transport through their operations.
    • Develop working relationships with the Local Authority to provide clear understanding of public transport availability at our sites.

  • Work with Aardman’s business partners, primarily our licensees, and implement the following data accuracy improvement and reduction strategies:
    • Develop a process to identify the Scope 1 and 2 emissions of licensees.
    • Identify key partners with whom Aardman has regular and ongoing business partnerships to develop a process for capturing the data needed for our reporting.
    • Develop guidelines for best practice in selecting and approving who we have new licensing deals with.

If you would like to know more about the above, please contact E&SManagement@aardman.com.