Editor Alethea Lindsay launches environmental sustainability consultancy Cut The Carbon

Alethea has launched Cut the Carbon (CTC), an environmental sustainability consultancy to the TV industry. Naturally, as an editor, her first target has been post-production – the sector least served by sustainability initiatives!

In an industry first, Alethea established the CTC Methodology – a way of calculating the Greenhouse Gasses (GHG) responsible for climate change that are emitted by the various post-production processes. 

This groundbreaking research was undertaken in collaboration with Clear Cut Pictures who were keen to determine the carbon footprint of their individual post activities, such as offline or online. They offered technical expertise and resources to the project, which meant Alethea was able to develop a methodology for measuring that was workable for the industry. 

Results show Clear Cut’s offline edit process for instance measuring at 2.75 kgCO2 e per day – the equivalent emissions of driving 7 miles in an average car. Interestingly, this figure was significantly lower than the industry sustainability body, Albert’s benchmark for editing. 

Rowan Bray, Managing Director at Clear Cut Pictures said;

“We are so proud of what we achieved together, they said it was not possible to evaluate the carbon footprint of individual post production processes. We have proved that wrong….  As the saying goes – if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it!”

Alethea is working towards publishing the results of the study, but in the meanwhile you can watch more about the research and establishment of the CTC methodology by Cut the Carbon, at Clear Cut Pictures in 2025…

The CTC Methodology has drawn interest from across the industry, including BFI, BBC, Sky and the UK Screen Alliance, because it can be applied to other post-production process such as online or final mix, and has potential application in VFX and animation. 

Not only will it help these businesses to identify emissions hotspots in their operations, but also provide accurate emissions data to productions who need this information for reporting to Albert. Clear Cut for instance now plans to give quotes for services that specify both monetary AND carbon costs. 

Alethea’s sustainability work isn’t limited to post-production though. Cut the Carbon’s aim is to support all businesses in the Screen Industry with resources, know-how and problem-solving expertise – whether it’s annual Greenhouse Gas (GHG) accounting and reporting, or integrating more planet-friendly habits that also help businesses to save cash. She’s also able to craft a message to brag about what’s been done!

When challenged about how she plans to juggle her editing gigs with sustainability she counters;

“Switching between tasks keeps my mind fresh – for me, a change is always as good as a holiday. Besides it’s my industry experience that brings legitimacy. As an insider, I can give advice that’s relevant.” 

Cut the Carbon can be found at www.cutthecarbon.co.uk. 

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