Overview of role
The sustainability coordinator reports to the sustainability lead / manager / advisor or directly to the production team, and is responsible for implementing and monitoring sustainable solutions on a production. They work with the production team to communicate and promote the sustainability objectives and goals for the production. They provide support to the
sustainability lead, collaborating with production leads or heads of department (HODs) on sustainability planning.
The sustainability coordinator also manages the monitoring and reporting of sustainable outcomes and the sustainability certification process. Depending on the size, type and genre of production, they may also work with a sustainability assistant or trainee; line managing them, delegating and overseeing tasks as required.
Download the PDF version of this skills checklist.
Download the Sustainability for Productions National Occupational Standards 2025.
Core responsibilities
These core responsibilities are provided as a guide and are not exhaustive. The exact responsibilities in a particular job will vary depending on the scale/budget band/genre of the production.
- Work with the heads of departments (HODs), senior production leads and studio and facility management to identify key decarbonisation initiatives to apply to the production
- Explore possible decarbonisation strategies and minimise potential
biodiversity impacts - Support the sustainability lead to suggest editorial changes that demonstrate sustainable behaviour on-screen where possible
- Support any pre-production meetings with relevant departments, as required
- Research the infrastructure and facilities proposed for the production, effectively integrating sustainability into their planning and use
- Support the work with senior production leads to produce the initial forecast of the carbon emissions in line with the shooting schedule
- When original proposals have a high carbon impact, suggest alternative actions to the production and those involved in overseeing sustainability
- Provide support to the production team on allocating budget to sustainability, and track costs for the sustainability department budget
- Support the selection of suppliers, vendors and facilities with the required expertise and equipment to fulfil sustainability requirements (both sustainable suppliers and suppliers of sustainable products)
- Confirm and establish wrap requirements and potential disposal of waste and circularity of materials including props, sets, costumes, equipment and assets
- Report problems and difficulties relating to sustainability to the relevant people
- Support measures to ensure compliance with policy, regulatory, organisational requirements and industry guidelines
- Support adherence to local, regional and national legislation and policies
- Assist in identifying high-impact areas of decarbonisation to focus on within the production including energy, transport, materials, catering and circularity
- Coordinate with relevant departments and any external experts on environmental impact, or other required assessments, when operating in natural spaces and biodiverse habitats
- Report findings of any specialist assessments to the sustainability lead
- Track sustainability budget allocations and report any discrepancies or challenges to the sustainability lead
- Facilitate communication with the HODs, exploring decarbonisation strategies, sustainable choices and minimising potential biodiversity impacts
- Assist with implementation of the agreed sustainable solution, technology or supplier(s)
- Suggest amendments or alternative solutions to the sustainability lead / manager and support sustainable decision making
- Support the implementation and tracking of compliance measures for policy, regulatory and organisational requirements and industry guidelines, and escalate issues as required
- Contribute data and research to inform funding proposals
- Undertake industry training and update knowledge of sustainability practice, as required
- Assist in discussions with HODs to review and plan decarbonisation strategies and sustainable solutions, taking notes and contributing suggestions
- Flag potential pressure points with the sustainability lead / manager
- Support explorations and minimisation of potential biodiversity impacts
recommended by sustainability lead / manager - Agree and finalise the sustainability plan in collaboration with the relevant sustainability lead
- Assist with preparation of materials or briefs to bring key decision makers up to speed on the proposed sustainability solutions
- Present the plan to production, cast, crew, contributors and suppliers
- Incorporate feedback and suggestions on the plan for sustainable practices
- Find opportunities to engage with cast, crew and contributors on the
decarbonisation plans for the production - Contribute to the creation of a green memo, clearly communicating the key sustainability goals for the production, and the responsibilities for the team
- Adapt sustainability plans and communicate changes to departments, cast, crew, contributors and suppliers
- Create and share sustainability updates with both cast, crew and contributors
- Establish and agree clear lines of communication with all departments, tailoring communication methods and timelines to the needs of the production
- Build relationships with all departments and suppliers, and answer production and crew queries on sustainability measures and impact
- Work in collaboration with the production to schedule sustainability communication
- Visit all production spaces to share and collate information on sustainability implementation in all departments
- Provide updates on sustainability implementation progress to the production, cast, crew and contributors, and any other relevant stakeholders including funders, commissioners and broadcasters
- Use sustainability updates and memos to keep cast, crew and contributors engaged and motivated
- Create a wrap report or final green memo or final newsletter to share with the production, cast, crew and contributors and relevant stakeholders including suppliers where applicable
- Communicate mitigations and positive actions and learnings, celebrating success with cast, crew, suppliers and contributors
- Liaise with the relevant teams to check the feasibility and achievability of the sustainability solution
- Confirm the budget for any sustainability-related costs
- Support the finance department to agree on templates, invoice models and requirements of sustainability monitoring
- Research and propose alternatives to the sustainability lead when original plans aren't feasible
- Monitor and record the success of trials and solutions adopted
- Analyse the success of the selected solutions
- Assess and communicate the wider positive impacts of sustainable solutions
- Comply with policy, regulatory and organisational requirements and
industry guidelines
- Confirm the system and reporting tools to be used for recording and monitoring sustainability on the production
- Confirm the data to be collected, and aspects of the production to be monitored in line with the confirmed toolkit
- Consider and select the best method to collect and collate the agreed data
- Liaise with all departments and production finance to ensure agreed data is collected
- Ensure the correct data is input into the carbon calculator or reporting tool
- Support the production finance team to complete carbon budget and carbon cost reporting processes
- Report progress and outcomes to the responsible person
- Establish measures to ensure that the final carbon footprint sign-off by the finance team aligns with the final ledger
- Cross-check the data between accounts data provided and department data provided
- Check and confirm the sustainability certification requirements for the production
- Liaise with the certification system or tool owner on any queries
- Ensure the required documentation for the sustainability certification system or tool being used is submitted
- Compile an evidence file for production auditability, as required
- Provide reports on certification progress to the production and the
sustainability team - Obtain the sustainability certification for the production once certification is complete
- Provide sustainability certification, with the usage guidelines of certification and associated bespoke certifier logos, to the responsible person
- Analyse the emissions report to understand the carbon emission impact of the production
- Assess and analyse the impact of actions taken to reduce the carbon footprint of the production
- Collate the information to prepare the sustainability wrap report, final green memo or final newsletter
- Produce the report and provide recommendations highlighting cost impacts, achievements and case studies
- Present the sustainability wrap report, final green memo or final newsletter to cast, crew and contributors
- Communicate mitigations, positive actions and learnings, celebrating success with cast, crew, suppliers and contributors
- Report lessons learnt to those responsible for future or ongoing productions, as required
Skills
Check out role specific skills, transferable skills and attributes for the role of sustainability coordinator.
- Coordinate and monitor sustainable practices on production
- Compile sustainability monitoring and progress reports and department cost tracking, in line with budget allocation and drawing on information from all relevant departments, ensuring sustainability reporting requirements are followed
- Liaise with other departments, acting as first point of contact for sustainability, communicating in an engaging, motivational way
- Provide sustainability lead/manager and production with up-to-date information on sustainability savings
- Support the sustainability lead/manager overseeing sustainability assistants and/or trainees with tasks allocated
- Communication: interpreting other’s requirements and communicating sustainability requirements to cast, crew, contributors and suppliers
- Team-working: collaboration within own and with other departments, liaising with production and suppliers
- Networking: investing time in networking activities, building a network of business contacts and establishing rapport with others quickly and effectively
- Planning: planning sustainable solutions for energy, materials, circularity, transport and biodiversity to meet production needs
- Problem-solving: contingency planning and resolving sustainability issues so that the production remains on schedule and carbon reduction is achieved
- Resilience and enthusiasm: adapts positively to changing work priorities and patterns, ensuring deadlines continue to be met.
- Proactive and explores the development of sustainability solutions and initiatives to achieve production sustainability goals including tracking deadlines and schedule changes
- Productivity: organises work effectively and achieves required results within deadlines.
- Demonstrates the drive and energy to get things done in pressurised situations and escalates appropriately when necessary
- Ethics and integrity: honest and principled in all of their actions and interactions.
- Respectful and inclusive of others, and meets the ethical requirements of their profession
- Flexibility: willing to both listen and learn and to accept changing priorities and working requirements, and has the flexibility to maintain high standards in a changing production environment
- Professional development: develops an ethos to learn and seek out learning and networking opportunities, identifying those that will be most beneficial