The city hopes to become a Green Giant of the TV and film industry by expanding a pilot program aimed at making city productions more environmentally friendly.
“Sesame Street,” “Madam Secretary” and “Divorce” joined the NYC Film Green effort last year, and were so successful the city is expanding the program to all productions. Together, the three shows diverted more than 94,000 water bottles from landfills, saved 48 trees by using recycled paper and donated thousands of meals to food charities.
Julie Menin, commissioner for the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, said the expansion comes at a time when New York’s film industry is riding high and people are looking for ways to help the planet.
“We hope this would be a paradigm moving forward for other cities to follow suit,” she said.
The pilot program launched in October and is now open to any film crew that spends at least one day of production in the city.
Interested crews can apply to be NYC Green Film certified on the city’s website, which also lists the program’s guidelines. The requirements include diverting more than 30% of waste output away from landfills.
Michael Stricks, co-executive producer on “Divorce,” said the city helped his team find easy ways to reduce their carbon footprint while filming in the city.
“It was good to have them help us streamline the protocols,” he said.
Menin said 56 TV productions filmed in the city during the 2016-17 season and more crews are expected to set up shop in the five boroughs. She hopes that more producers take advantage of the green initiative.
“This pilot has given us incredible insights,” she said.
