European animation is about to get their own environmental report card.
A new European certification program, called ANiMPACT, has begun testing a system that will let animation studios prove they’re producing their work in an environmentally responsible way, something the live-action film industry has been able to do for years.
ANiMPACT is run jointly by three organizations: CineRegio, a network of 53 regional film funds across Europe; Ecoprod, a French nonprofit that has worked on sustainable filmmaking since 2009; and Green Film, a certification system for live-action productions that launched in Italy’s Trentino region in 2017 and has since certified more than 340 films and shows in about a dozen countries. The pilot program officially launched on June 25 at the international animation film festival in Annecy. It follows two years of work and a public feedback period that drew responses from more than 100 organizations in 18 countries.
The idea fills a gap that has existed for as long as environmental certification has been around. Live-action films have had programs like Green Film, the U.K.’s Albert and Ecoprod’s Carbon Clap calculator to measure and certify how eco-friendly a production is. Nothing like that has existed for animation, even though it’s a major part of the film and TV business and, despite appearances, comes with its own environmental cost.
