Today, BAFTA Albert announces three Super-Indies - Banijay UK, Fremantle and ITV Studios - have signed the screen industry recognised Climate Content Pledge. They join 12 leading broadcasters and streamers who committed to helping audiences engage with the world’s environmental challenges through onscreen content, when the pledge was launched at COP 26 in 2021.
The announcement of these new signatories marks an evolution of the pledge from broadcaster and commissioner focussed, to including independent production companies, committed to developing, pitching, and producing climate content and sustainability storytelling.
Speaking about Banijay UK, Fremantle and ITV Studio’s Commitment, Catherine Ellis, BAFTA Albert’s Head of Climate Content said: “We know that our industry holds incredible power to tell extraordinary stories that really shift how we see things. When 12 pioneering organisations signed the Pledge in 2021, they committed to tell engaging, relevant, and hopeful stories about climate change and sustainable futures - across all genres.
However, broadcasters and streamers are only half of the picture. Production companies bring the ideas to life - pitching original, fresh, relevant stories that reflect the world we live in. Their commitment shows the acceleration and momentum of this work.
The Climate Content Pledge is our industry at its best: Broadcasters, streamers and producers working together to tell bold, hopeful climate-related stories that don’t just make great content, but that inspire audiences.”
Banijay UK, Fremantle and ITV Studios
The signatories of Banijay UK, Fremantle and ITV Studios signal a wide-reaching commitment to the Climate Content Pledge - collectively representing 65 UK based programming companies and over100 globally. Their productions include Bergerac, MasterChef and SAS Rogue Heroes (Banijay UK) The Cage, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and The Apprentice (Fremantle) and After the Flood, Emmerdale and Secret Garden (ITV Studios).
Patrick Holland, CEO of Banijay UK said: "Storytelling is at the heart of everything we do as producers. Whether in documentary, drama, reality or entertainment, engaging audiences with stories that matter is our power. By supporting this Pledge, working hand in hand with our broadcast partners, building on the work already done, we can harness this power to tell the most urgent story which needs to be told as we navigate the path to net zero."
Amelia Brown, CEO of Fremantle UK said: “Fremantle is proud to support BAFTA Albert’s Climate Content Pledge and stand alongside an industry committed to driving meaningful change. We believe the stories we tell have the power to shape culture and influence behaviour, and with that comes a responsibility to reflect the realities of the climate and nature crisis on screen. Across our content, we are committed to embedding sustainability into storytelling in authentic and engaging ways, and to working collaboratively with partners to drive lasting impact on screen.”
Julian Bellamy, Managing Director, ITV Studios said: "We are proud to build on the foundation laid by the broadcasters, in signing this pledge and ensuring that climate-conscious creativity continues to be part of our editorial thinking.
We know our greatest impact lies in our storytelling. From gripping dramas like After the Flood to weaving sustainable storylines into Emmerdale to David Attenborough's Secret Garden - we are using our creative reach to engage audiences worldwide. The broadcasters started this journey and we, as producers, have continued driving it forward through authentic and impactful shows.”
Original Signatories
The 12 original signatories to BAFTA Albert’s Climate Content Pledge upon its launch at COP 26 in 2021 are: BBC, BBC Studios, britbox, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV, Paramount, RTE, S4C, STV, UKTV and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Speaking of the new signatories, Zai Bennett, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Global Content, BBC Studios said: “BBC Studios was proud to sign BAFTA Albert’s Climate Content Pledge in 2021 because we recognised the responsibility and opportunity that storytelling brings in shaping how audiences see the world. Our production teams are embracing climate themes with greater ambition, not only in landmark factual titles such as Asia and Planet Earth III, but also across programmes such as Countryfile and The One Show.
Welcoming more production companies as signatories is a vital next step because it accelerates the flow of ideas from producers to commissioners and helps ensure that sustainable storytelling becomes an integral, lasting part of the creative and commissioning process.”
About BAFTA Albert’s Climate Content Pledge
Signatories of BAFTA Albert’s Climate Content Pledge commit to create, programme, and develop content that considers climate and sustainability themes, inspires audiences to make greener choices, and recognises the importance of fair and balanced representations of visions for a sustainable future.
CLIMATE CHANGE PRESENTS ENORMOUS CHALLENGES WHICH WILL AFFECT US ALL. With the Paris Climate Agreement, nations all over the world have committed to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects. To limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and avoid catastrophic runaway climate change, carbon emissions must be halved by 2030. The decisions that governments, businesses and individuals make now and over the next five years are crucial to setting a sustainable climate trajectory. While the situation is urgent and grave, it is not without hope – every tonne of emissions avoided or removed can prevent further damage.
We, as members of the global screen industry, have a crucial responsibility to help our audiences engage with these challenges.
Therefore, we commit to the following principles:
- We will reach more of our audiences with content that helps everyone understand and navigate the path to net zero and inspires them to make greener choices.
We will develop processes that help us to consider climate themes when we are commissioning, developing or producing content*. - We will ensure that our efforts are informed by the science.
- We will recognise the importance of fair and balanced representations of visions for a sustainable future.
- We will work together:
learning from and inspiring each other
sharing relevant industry and audience insights
developing relevant metrics, improving how we measure our impact. - We will communicate regularly with our colleagues, partners, and audiences so that we can all play our part in meeting this shared challenge.
*For the purposes of this pledge, “content” is all programming with the exception of news.
