CO2e Calculator
Calculate carbon equivalents and offsets for your production using official figures
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Calculations
This calculator uses 2025 UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting.
The UK government mandates certain businesses report their energy use and carbon emissions annually, primarily through the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework. This requirement applies to larger UK companies, publicly-listed companies, and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) meeting certain criteria. The SECR framework aims to promote energy efficiency and increase transparency for investors and stakeholders, and the figures generated in this report align with SECR requirements.
There are seven principal GHGs in the Kyoto Protocol: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).
The values used in the calculation of CO2e are based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) so the Conversion Factors are consistent with current national and international reporting requirements. The factors we use calculate the combined emissions for all relevant GHGs, which are then converted into kg CO2e per unit activity. Also SECR only requires TTW (Tank To Wheel) or direct combustion emissions, not indirect ‘Well To Tank’ emissions, so that’s what we’ve used throughout.
To help you accurately report your CO2e, we’ll automatically allocate emissions to the relevant ‘scopes’ provided for in the legislation. This is painless, all happens in the background and will be detailed on the final spreadsheet that’s emailed to you.
However, sometimes we need a little more information to do this accurately – for example we may ask you to estimate the proportion of fuel used in company-owned vehicles vs those owned or operated by freelancers or subcontractors. This doesn’t affect the amount of CO2e – it’s the same – it’s just where it’s allocated to when you generate the report.
Reporting
You need to consider the whole production lifecycle when entering your data.
The Green Claims Code requires that environmental claims reflect the major impacts across the entire process: from pre-production through post, distribution and disposal, not just the shoot itself. This includes energy use, travel, materials, catering, waste, and any relevant promotional or delivery activities.
If some elements are unknown or out of scope, that’s fine; just be transparent. Be clear about which stages are included, and if you’re excluding lifecycle stages, make this explicit: UK guidance (including the Green Claims Code) requires that sustainability claims do not mislead by omitting significant emissions or activities.
For example the last two stages listed below (distribution / exhibition and end of life) are often ignored, but the Green Claims Code requires material parts of the lifecycle not to be hidden or downplayed.
Key Lifecycle Stages in Film and TV Production
Pre-Production
- Office energy use
- Recce travel
- Script printing/materials
- Early procurement decisions (set builds, costumes, catering contracts)
Production
- Fuel and power (generators, location power, OB units)
- Transport (flights, vehicle hire, freight)
- Catering and waste
- Accommodation
- Materials used on set (timber, paints, plastics, etc.)
- Temporary construction and rigging
- Crew commuting
Post-Production
- Studio power (especially for long offline/online edits)
- Data storage and rendering
- Foley/ADR travel
- QC and delivery systems
Distribution and Exhibition
- International delivery (hard drives, satellite, cloud)
- Promotional events and festivals
- Audience consumption (streaming, broadcast, cinema power footprint)
End of Life
- Set disposal or reuse
- Costume/wig recycling or waste
- Carbon offsetting strategies (if used)
Greener Energy
Transitioning away from diesel / HVO generators is a powerful step toward greener productions, and there are now more viable options than ever such as battery storage systems, green hydrogen, and hybrid setups.
For example, productions have used second-life electric bus batteries or hybrid battery-HVO systems to reduce generator runtime by 80%, saving fuel and significant emissions.
While switching entirely may not always be feasible, integrating these cleaner technologies where you are able can substantially cut emissions, lower costs, and demonstrate a commitment to environmental responsibility. Even small changes can make a significant impact, and every step toward sustainability counts.
Procurement
Choosing recycled or re-used materials over virgin stock is one of the most impactful ways to reduce a production’s carbon footprint. Reusing existing sets, props, or construction materials can reduce embodied carbon emissions by up to 90% compared to building new.
Using closed-loop recycled materials – such as recycled aluminium or reclaimed timber – not only cuts down on raw material extraction but significantly lowers CO₂e output. For example, recycled steel uses 75% less energy to produce than virgin steel, while re-used plywood and scenic flats can be sourced through set exchanges or local salvage yards, offering both environmental and budgetary benefits.
Even choosing sustainable alternatives for costumes and textiles – such as hiring or sourcing second-hand – can make a measurable difference. These choices show that sustainability doesn’t mean compromise; it often leads to smarter, more creative resource use and powerful emissions savings.
The factors below should be used to report on consumption of procured materials based on their origin (that is, comprised of primary material or recycled materials).
This is divided into three categories:
- Primary materials (made from virgin stock);
- Recycled materials from a ‘closed-loop’ source (where the previous product is the same as the new one);
- Re-used materials (for aggregates, clothing, and wood) which can represent a significant CO₂e saving.
These factors are useful for reporting efficiencies gained through reduced procurement of material or the benefit of procuring items that are the product of a previous recycling process.
Calculating Post-Production CO2e
We have taken the DEFRA / SECR CO2e footprint for an office worker per hour and calculated the extra CO2e for energy-intensive post production activities. We’ve added these on for the CO2e you see calculated above. These figures take into account the person performing the activity – you don’t need to add operator hours to the Office numbers.
If you need to add more to account for extra digital infrastructure such as cloud storage, you can do so below.
| Activity | Typical Power Use | kg CO2 / hour | Factor Added |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offline Editing | 150–250W (laptop/desktop) | 0.03–0.05 | 0.0400 |
| Online Editing / Grading | 400–600W | 0.08–0.12 | 0.1000 |
| Rendering / Exporting | 500–1200W | 0.10–0.23 | 0.1650 |
| VFX / Compositing | 600–1500W (heavy GPU use) | 0.12–0.29 | 0.2050 |
| Audio Post | 200–400W | 0.04–0.08 | 0.0600 |
| Transcoding / QC | 400–800W | 0.08–0.15 | 0.1200 |
| Cloud Rendering | Varies (data centre load) | 0.20–0.30 | 0.2800 |
Calculating Other CO2e Sources
Digital Infrastructure
While often invisible, digital infrastructure can carry a surprisingly heavy carbon cost, particularly for productions rich in data, VFX, or high-resolution footage. Cloud storage is a quiet contributor: 1TB stored for a year may produce around 2.7 kg CO₂e, but this multiplies quickly when multiple backups of rushes are kept ‘just in case‘, or when 4K–8K footage and visual effects files are shared across vendors: this can run into petabytes in some circumstances.
Offline storage or large on-site servers and high-performance workstations used for VFX rendering, colour grading, and sound mixing, can draw substantial power, especially if left running continuously.
Emerging technologies like AI-assisted editing, rotoscoping, or face replacement also introduce energy demands that aren’t always accounted for in traditional emissions estimates from DEFRA / SECR. While these digital processes may be essential, understanding their footprint is the first step toward managing it—by reducing unnecessary duplication, turning off idle machines, and choosing greener data centres where possible. These hidden impacts remind us that digital sustainability can matter just as much as what happens on set.
Logistics
Transport and logistics overhead beyond Cast and Crew travel can add up. Couriered items, especially same-day or international rush shipments (hard drives, costume pieces, rushes), can be highly carbon-intensive. Multiple recces to the same location or excessive vehicle movements for errands or pick-ups may slip under the radar in standard calculations. Idle vehicles on set, especially generators or refrigerated trucks, can emit significantly over long periods.
Multi-drop parcel deliveries (as opposed to couriers) are reckoned to be very carbon efficient at about 0.2kg per parcel when delivered by Royal Mail. But these can add up if you’re taking a lot of deliveries.
Laundry and Costume Care
Regular washing and drying of costumes – particularly when using dryers instead of line drying – can lead to high energy and water use. Dry cleaning involves energy and often toxic solvents (e.g. perchloroethylene), which may have environmental and health impacts. Over-ordering of costume or uniform duplicates ‘just in case‘ increases material use and emissions from manufacture and shipping.
Fire Safety and Atmospheric Effects
Use of smoke and haze(particularly oil-based hazers) contributes to both emissions and particulate matter. Fire extinguishers and pyro effects contain potent gases and chemicals (some of which are GHGs), and while used sparingly, they contribute more than is often recognised.
Office and Unit Base Energy Use
We’ve included the DEFRA / SECR figures above, but leased office spaces or unit bases may run inefficient HVAC systems, possibly around the clock. Also personal devices and chargers, when left plugged in continuously, draw phantom power – even small devices like laptops and walkie-talkie docks can add up over weeks. Use of disposable batteries in walkie-talkies and small electronics rather than rechargeable alternatives.
Digital Workflows and Communication
Zoom, Teams and video conferencing (especially in high volume and high resolution) has a modest but cumulative data centre energy impact. Sending large files repeatedly (e.g. dailies, reviews, assets) over cloud platforms contributes to both storage and transmission footprints.
Scopes
In Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR), emissions are categorised to help understand and manage a company’s overall carbon footprint.
When adding ‘other’ carbon sources, you need to catgorise them into the following ‘Scopes’:
Scope 1 (Direct Emissions):
These are emissions directly resulting from a company’s operations, such as burning fuel in company vehicles.
Scope 2 (Indirect Emissions from Purchased Energy):
This includes emissions from the production of electricity, heat, steam, or cooling that the company purchases from external sources and isn’t directly billed for.
Scope 3 (Indirect Emissions in the Value Chain):
These are emissions that occur at sources not owned or directly controlled by the production but are a consequence of its activities, for example most business travel, purchased goods and services, waste disposal or materials.
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