For anyone trying to live a sustainable lifestyle, most of your daily thinking goes into what reductions you can make to your food and home energy. But have you ever considered the Carbon Footprint of your entertainment? What is your go to form of entertainment that whisks you away from the daily grind? Watching Sports? A blockbuster movie? A Broadway show? The ballet? Shooting Zombies in a multiplayer extravaganza? Do you Instagram your glamorous lunch or Tweet the dog with a fluffy tail? You’ll be happy to know that most options do fit in with your sustainable lifestyle.
The grandeur of the movie theatre has always been a popular experience. The comfy seats, enormous screen, surround sound, and treating yourself to some popcorn and a soda. Recently with the rise in incredible and affordable home entertainment systems and online streaming services, the theatres have been working overtime to elevate the experience. Whatever way you like to catch a blockbuster are you interested in what the cost is to the health of our planet?
We will start by letting you know there is a huge disparity in the carbon footprint of movies. While a local independent film will usually have the lowest footprint, it is rarely viewed by the larger mainstream audience. The summer Blockbuster, filmed in exotic locations, overused green screen and considerable marketing can have twenty times the emissions of small budget films, but may also have over one hundred times the audience.
Hollywood’s major studios and the Producers Guild of America have now teamed on a Green Production Guide to cut carbon emissions
| Movie Type | Cost to make (million) | Average Viewers (million) | Average CO2 emissions per view | % of daily footprint |
| Blockbuster | $50 | 30M to 100 | 0.3lb | 2.5% |
| Standard | $20 | 5 to 75 | 0.26lb | 2% |
| Independent | <$5 | 0.1 to 20 | 0.3lb | 2.5% |
The worst case scenario for a blockbuster flop is around 10% of your daily footprint. So don’t stress if your guilty pleasure is Mortal Engines, John Carter or Battlefield Earth.
With the abundance of streaming networks, Television has leap frogged movies for convenience and access. But how does the carbon footprint compare? With reduced budgets, reusable sets and lower production values the total emissions are much lower despite the reduced audience.
| Type | Average CO2 emissions per view | % of daily footprint |
| On location | 0.3lb | 2.5% |
| Studio | 0.1lb | <1% |
| Animated | 0.15lb | <1% |
It should also be noted that your 12hr binge watching could actually account for over 50% of your daily emissions, so make sure you’re meat free eating that day.
For the more sophisticated, an evening at the theatre, ballet or opera might be the preferred option. The great news is in the last 2 decades productions have been conscious about their footprint and reduced emissions by 60%. In fact, most productions are now hiring outside advisors to limit their effects on the environment. Reusing & recycling sets, more efficient lighting and removing large transport emissions are the most effective.
| Type | Average CO2 emissions per ticket | % of daily footprint |
| Broadway Show | 0.6lb | 5% |
| Opera | 0.4lb | 3% |
| Ballet | 0.4lb | 3% |
| Orchestra | 0.5lb | 4% |
| Traveling Shows | 1.8lb | 14% |
Unless you live close enough to walk to the venue, don’t forget to include the emissions from your method of transport. These will most likely be higher than the show.
We all have our favorite artists and catching a gig when they’re in town can be an amazing experience. Whether it is a single show or a festival, this is one of the higher emitting entertainments.
| Type | Average CO2 emissions (per attendee) | % of daily footprint |
| Small Gig | 1.5lb | 11% |
| Large Venue | 2lb | 15% |
| Stadium Concert | 2.5lb | 20% |
| Festival (per day) | 19.5lb | 150% |
Attending a festival has an unsustainable footprint so don’t forget to check out our guide to help you do so as sustainably as possible!
So for the most part we can relax and enjoy a show without worrying about harming our planet. Check out Part II where we examine the carbon footprint of watching different sports.
