Sky announced as Principal Partner and Media Partner for COP26 and publishes new environmental commitments for TV productions

• Every Sky Original to adhere to Sustainable Production Principles and Planet Test
• All Sky Sports host broadcasts to be albert certified sustainable productions

Sky, Europe’s largest media and entertainment organisation, has announced it will be the Principal Partner and Media Partner for the COP26 international climate change summit taking place in Glasgow this November. As a Principal Partner, Sky will support the delivery of a successful and ambitious summit working alongside the UK Government who hold the COP26 Presidency.

Sky has today published a series of bold new environmental commitments for its TV productions, which will define a new standard for the broadcast industry and make progress towards achieving Sky’s overall business ambition to be net zero carbon by 2030.

Jeremy Darroch, Executive Chairman, Sky, said: “This year will require us all to focus and adapt as we accelerate our efforts to tackle the climate crisis. At Sky, we believe that our voice and reach can play a vital role in empowering our customers, partners and industry peers to build a better world, because it’s the actions of business, the government and individuals, that will define our generation. I hope Sky’s new Planet Test and Sustainable Production Principles will spur others to make the transition to net zero with us.”

COP26 President Alok Sharma said: “This is an exciting year as we prepare for COP26 in Glasgow. Businesses have a key part to play in the summit and in building back greener, so I am delighted to welcome Sky as a Principal Partner for COP26. Their Sky Zero campaign shows how ambitious they are to take meaningful action for the future of our planet and I look forward to working together in the run up to COP26.” 

Sky Originals

Since 2019, all Sky Originals in the UK have been CarbonNeutral®, however Sky has published new Sustainable Production Principles; clear, industry-leading guidelines that will help all its future productions across original drama, comedy and more achieve albert sustainable production certification.

Sky is also introducing a new Planet Test to make sure all its production, editorial and commissioning teams across Sky and Sky Studios actively consider the environment and champion sustainability on screen and off. This will focus on three areas; raising the issues, showing action and using content to raise awareness.

As well as these bold new commitments, building work is well underway for the new Sky Studios Elstree which aims to be the world’s most sustainable film and TV production studios when it opens next year.

Sky News

Aligning with its commitment to inform audiences on the issues that matter, Sky News will continue to cover the climate crisis through its dedicated climate correspondent, Lisa Holland, and will increase its coverage of the climate crisis in the countdown to COP26.

Sky Sports

Sky Sports today announces that it will target albert’s sustainable production certification for every host broadcast this year. Over the last 12 months Sky Sports has made significant progress in reducing its environmental impact, is including environmental storylines within the Sky Sports coverage and has led the industry, becoming the first broadcaster to sign up to the UNFCCC Sports for Climate Action Framework and a founding member of BAFTA albert’s Sports Consortium. Sky Sports has shown further commitment to driving industry change by appointing a Manager of Responsible Productions.

Notes to editors:

For more information, please contact:  skypress@sky.uk

Sky Zero

About Sky’s Sustainable Production Principles and Planet Test:

From today, all future Sky Originals will adhere to new principles around sustainable productions. These are guidelines that will shape Sky’s commissioning and production decision-making, and we expect all producers to work to. These principles are:

• Working in partnership: We prefer to work with producers and businesses who are aligned with our net zero carbon ambitions. That includes producers using third-party suppliers who are committed to net zero carbon.
• Plan and innovate: TV and film production is one of the most innovative industries in the world. We will work with Heads of Production to provide guidance, find solutions and mitigate carbon emissions during production wherever possible – resulting in a ‘Green Memo’ for everyone in the production to follow.
• Measure and track: From development stage, we will review each production’s draft carbon footprint, complete an albert carbon action plan and track progress throughout production.
• Apply the planet test: For each new Sky Original commission and production in the UK, we will apply ‘The Planet Test’. This test is a simple way for all production, commissioning and editorials teams to check if our productions raise awareness of the issues and show positive action. While there is an expectation that all productions will produce responsibly The Planet Test does not mean that every Sky Original must carry editorial activity to support the Sky Zero campaign. Rather, it’s a simple test to see if it easily could through things like incidental behaviour on screen.
• Learn and share: We know that we won’t always get this right, but by continuously share learnings with the production community we hope we can advocate for change across the industry, together.

About BAFTA albert:

albert is a collaborative BAFTA, indie and broadcaster backed project that brings the screen industries together to tackle their environmental impact and inspire sustainable living. Founded in 2011 and governed by an industry consortium, the group’s objective is to support everyone working in film and TV to create positive environmental change. They do this by enabling every part of the screen industry to eliminate waste and carbon emissions from production and empowering the industry to create on-screen content strategies that support a vision for a sustainable future

The project offers events, training, certification, a bespoke production carbon calculator and a renewable energy procurement project. Each year over 1000 productions use the albert calculator with a further 300 also applying for albert certification.

About COP26:

In November this year, the UK will host the UN climate change conference COP26, in Glasgow with our partners, Italy. This will provide an opportunity for the world to come together and commit to urgent action. As hosts of COP26, the UK will lead by example during this unprecedented time. Guided by science, we will invest in a green recovery which creates sustainable jobs and addresses the urgent and linked challenges of public health, climate change, and biodiversity loss. The UK is committed to working with all countries and joining forces with civil society, companies and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire action ahead of COP26.

About Sky Zero

In February 2020, Sky set its commitment to be net zero carbon by 2030, two decades ahead of the government’s target. Since then:

• May 2020 – Sky Sports wins the SVG One Planet Award for Sustainability in Sports TV
• June 2020 – All Sky Originals from 2019 onward now certified CarbonNeutral® in the UK
• July 2020 – Sky Sports become first broadcaster to sign up to UNFCCC’s Sports for Action Framework
• July 2020 – Sky Sports confirmed as founding member of BAFTA albert Sports Consortium
• July 2020 – Work begins on Sky Studios Elstree which will become the most sustainable film and TV production site in the world when it opens in 2022
• September 2020 – Sky Sports announces all Premier League, EFL and Transfer Deadline Day live broadcasts will be BAFTA albert certified
• October 2020 – Jeremy Darroch and Sky receive the inaugural MIP SDG Award for action towards delivering the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
• November 2020 – Sky announces arrival of 151 new PHEV engineer vans that emit 60% less emissions.
• December 2020 – Anthony Joshua’s live on Sky Sports world championship fight against Kubrat Pulev became the first albert certified boxing match