Sustainable commitment

"We want to use our media presence to publicise this issue," says Pheline Roggan. It is important to her to get as many actors on board as possible. The Changemakers have formulated the objectives with which they want to encourage the film industry to work in a more sustainable and environmentally conscious way in a Voluntary Commitment and Declaration on Green Filming. Numerous feasible measures are listed in thirteen fields of action, which particularly affect CO2-intensive areas such as transport, accommodation, catering and technology.

We ourselves are responsible for change

"We are committed to avoiding climate-damaging working methods on set that we know from our own experience," emphasise the Changemakers.film. "We are happy to break with old habits and do without luxury. And we are not afraid to position ourselves clearly. It's not 'the others' who are responsible for change, but ourselves first." After discussions with various trades, it became clear that the actors had not yet taken a clear position. However, this is necessary in order to support the commitment of existing initiatives. In order to communicate their commitment to climate protection to the production, actors can attach the "Green Filming" declaration to their contract, for example.

Promoting exchange

"We have spoken to agencies about how best to enter into dialogue with the respective productions," says initiator Pheline Roggan. "We want to use our position and media presence to bring about change together with all trades." Changemakers.film aims to stimulate creative dialogue with members from all areas of production in order to actively shape a more sustainable way of working and producing in the film industry. "We want to openly exchange ideas with the various trades and support each other," emphasises the actress.

Bring your own clothes to the set

Communication plays a central role here. If coordination with the actors takes place at an early stage, a costume designer can, for example, refrain from buying invisible items of clothing from fast fashion companies during preparation if the actors agree to wear their own clothes. Warm jackets are often bought cheaply by the production to keep on set for the actors during breaks in filming. "It doesn't hurt to wear your own winter jackets on set," emphasises Pheline Roggan. "These measures may be small-scale, but they definitely have an effect on a large scale." Sometimes the actors can also bring certain items of clothing, such as their own jeans, to the shoot. This has the advantage that the clothes look even more authentic than brand-new jeans, which the costume designer first has to give a worn patina. "The fashion industry has a gigantic ecological footprint," says the actress, who is in favour of avoiding the purchase of cheap clothing. "It's important that we rethink and create new patterns. That way, we can simplify many processes and even save costs." When it comes to catering, actors can also signal that they want to avoid meat and animal-based foods, for example, in order to reduce the carbon footprint of production.

The "Changemakers. film" initiative is growing

Hair & Make Up artists may be overwhelmed when actors ask for products that do not contain microplastics or animal testing. "There are products that fulfil such requirements, but there needs to be more exchange within the trades to find creative solutions and share knowledge about them," assures Pheline Roggan. "We want to contribute our visions and goals in order to change our industry in a sustainable and diverse way in the interests of us all." The Voluntary Declaration of Commitment, which has been supported in the industry by the producers' association and others, has met with a positive response. More than 300 signatories have already joined the initiative.