The Vista Foundation is proud to be the funding partner behind Greenlit's new Sustainable Screen Training programme. It is a practical, people-first initiative to make sustainable production the norm on screen productions across Aotearoa.
The Vista Foundation is proud to be the funding partner behind Greenlit's new Sustainable Screen Training programme. It is a practical, people-first initiative to make sustainable production the norm on screen productions across Aotearoa.
Since 2015, we have backed initiatives that grow New Zealand's screen industry, from education to industry support to commercial pathways. Sustainability is fast becoming part of how good productions are run. We wanted to help make sure our sector has the skilled people to lead that work well.
The programme has two aims: lift sustainability best practice across the industry through training, and help local productions work with skilled sustainability managers. It does this in three connected ways.
Training sustainability managers. Sustainability managers carry this work day to day on a production. The hands-on training builds practical skills in carbon measurement, planning, supplier engagement and reporting, all grounded in tools and frameworks already used across Aotearoa. It cements best practice for experienced managers and gives new people the confidence to step onto a production.
Bringing producers alongside. Sustainability managers do their best work when the wider production backs them. Targeted workshops help producers understand timelines, budget and savings opportunities, and what a sustainability manager needs to succeed. The new Producers' Sustainability Training is supported by NZ On Air.
Pilot placements. With support from the New Zealand Film Commission, trained sustainability managers are being placed on local productions through funded pilot placements. It is a key step towards fully embedding sustainable practice in our industry.
The programme's inaugural cohort recently gathered for an in-person training weekend, hosted generously by Studio West. Over the weekend, participants worked through carbon measurement, planning, supplier engagement and reporting.
Just as valuable was the time in the room together. Bringing people together in person is how a community forms. This cohort is the start of a network of skilled people ready to lead sustainability work on productions across the motu.
A skilled sustainability manager is one of the highest-value additions a production can make. The environmental outcomes matter, but the benefits go further.
The right person brings efficiencies that ripple through a production: smarter resourcing, less waste, better planning and real savings on the budget. Done well, sustainability isn't a cost to a production. It's a benefit to it.
The Vista Foundation exists to invest in the future of New Zealand film, and that has always meant investing in people. Training builds capability that stays in the sector long after a single production wraps.
New initiatives need funders willing to back them early. We are glad to have helped get this one off the ground, alongside the New Zealand Film Commission and NZ On Air. Together, this support takes people from training into real work on local productions.
Ngā mihi nui to Greenlit for leading this work, to Studio West for hosting the training weekend, and to everyone who gave their time to make it happen. The momentum behind sustainable screen production in Aotearoa is real, and it's growing. We're proud to be part of it.