SME Climate Hub Launches Climate Action Courses

New resources created with support from Netflix aim to drive decarbonization within the film and television production industry, as part of SME Climate Hub’s suite of tools.

New York, NY –  December 8, 2023: The SME Climate Hub and We Mean Business Coalition today launched a series of free and open access educational resources aimed at driving sustainable practices within film and series production. Titled “Action Courses”, these materials intend to educate and guide small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the entertainment industry to adopt clean technology, specifically electric vehicles. These Action Courses were developed with support from Netflix, which provided guidance based on the company’s own expertise and experience implementing clean technologies within its productions.

Emissions from productions account for a large portion of the industry’s footprint, with fuel usage resulting in 48% of the average emissions of a tentpole film. Studios often rely on vendors to help reduce their carbon emissions, and the SME Climate Hub Action Courses represent an important effort to support smaller vendors in adapting their business models to meet industry demand for EVs and support sustainable business practices. Any studio or independent business can use these Action Courses to drive change within their vendor network.

“When industry leaders like Netflix share the benefits of adopting clean solutions, they join us in inspiring sector-wide transformation to decarbonize,” noted María Mendiluce, CEO of We Mean Business Coalition, the host organization of the SME Climate Hub. “Alongside these action modules for small companies to integrate electric vehicles, the Coalition has launched its Fossil to Clean campaign to mobilize businesses and policymakers to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to clean solutions. This is good for business and good for our communities.”

“Small and medium-sized businesses want to take climate action, but they need the right resources and financial incentives in order to prioritize the transition,” said Pamela Jouven, Director of the SME Climate Hub. “With the launch of the Action Courses, the SME Climate Hub grows our support to further meet the needs of our community.”

“Netflix is committed to decarbonizing our productions and shifting the supply chain towards clean technology,” said Emma Stewart, Ph.D., Netflix Sustainability Officer. “Today’s entertainment industry relies heavily on a network of small and medium-sized vendors to provide crucial equipment and vehicles. By actively collaborating with these vendors to embrace electric vehicles, we can drive substantial and meaningful advancements within our industry.”

Each Action Course serves as an interactive e-learning course that provides detailed technical information and practical steps toward adopting EVs in vendor and studio operations. With learning modules on charging infrastructure, cost evaluation, and vehicle operation, vendors can learn how to best integrate EVs into their equipment rental businesses, and studios can educate their crews and drivers to operationalize EVs on production. By integrating EVs into their business, production vendors can benefit from financial incentives, including government support and rebates, reduced operating and maintenance costs, and new business opportunities from studios prioritizing clean technology. 

Businesses interested in the Action Courses are encouraged to make the SME Climate Commitment in order to make the most of the SME Climate Hub’s offering, communication benefits and partner incentives. The platform also includes tools for emissions measurement and reporting and additional Action Guides that are industry-agnostic. 

The collaborative approach of leveraging a corporate partner’s industry-specific knowledge in the development of the Action Courses marks the next phase of growth for the SME Climate Hub, which has received support from other technology leaders including Google.org and Verizon on the development of emissions measurement and education resources in the past. In the coming year, the SME Climate Hub will continue to build on this momentum, partnering with other industry leaders across sectors to share targeted guidance for small business decarbonization.

About the SME Climate Hub

The SME Climate Hub is an initiative of the We Mean Business Coalition, the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, and the UN High Level Climate Champions’ Race to Zero campaign. In collaboration with Normative and the Net Zero team at Oxford University, the SME Climate Hub provides free tools and resources to enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to make a climate commitment, take action and measure their progress towards emissions reductions in line with the latest science.   

About We Mean Business Coalition

We Mean Business Coalition works with the world’s most influential businesses to take action on climate change. The Coalition is a group of seven nonprofit organizations: BSR, CDP, Ceres, Climate Group, CLG Europe, The B Team and WBCSD. Together, we catalyze business and policy action to halve emissions by 2030 and accelerate an inclusive transition to a net-zero economy. Find out more at wemeanbusinesscoalition.org.