CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE FILM OFFICE SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION GUIDE
Recent reports state Major Budget Feature Films
Have a Carbon Footprint of Over 3,000 Metric Tons!
~ Sustainable Production Alliance July 2022
The City of ABQ is here to provide resources to help lessen film productions environmental impact on the community.
Thank you for choosing to run a sustainable production.
How can AFO help production teams meet their Sustainability goals?
The basic principles behind creating a sustainable production includes concepts such as conserving fuel and energy, avoiding toxins and pollution, saving water, reducing plastics and preventing landfill waste.
Implementing these principles on set, where time is money and daily life is fast-paced, can be tricky. The key is to identify priorities and challenges before production begins.
Getting Started
Sustainability Partners and Organizations: Many organizations have paved the way in sustainable production and have incredible tools available for open use.
The City of ABQ has taken a pledge to plant 100,000 trees by 2030. With your help, we can restore Albuquerque’s urban canopy and create a cooler, more sustainable future for our City. Special carbon off-set plans available for productions who help us reach this goal. Please inquire how we can all support each other to reach our sustainability goals.
Pathways and systems to help make your production as “green” as possible. Find tools that can help, including the PEACH (Production Environmental Actions Checklist) which lists best practices for each department, and the PEAR (Production Environmental Accounting Report), a carbon calculator. Please visit for many free, film-specific resources. The tool kit you’ll find here is a product of The Sustainable Production Alliance (SPA) – a consortium of the world’s leading film, television and streaming companies dedicated to advancing sustainability initiatives through advocacy, education, and innovation while reducing the entertainment industry’s overall environmental impact. SPA members include Amazon Studios, Amblin Partners, Disney, Fox Corporation, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Participant, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. Please visit for many free, film-specific resources.
Together We Can Establish Sustainable Commercial Productions. It is time for us to shift our industry to zero-waste, minimal carbon, sustainable and regenerative practices.
Green Resources Table of Contents
Waste
Department Resources: Every department, stage or facility can contribute to best green practices for a production. This includes in the office, on location, and on stage.
Accepts mainly green things such as spoiled food, shrubs, and in some cases waxed/soiled cardboard boxes. No metal, glass, or plastic. Commercial pickup service available. Soilutions composted nearly 72 tons of food waste during the filming of Terminator Salvation in 2008.
More acceptable and unacceptable materials listed on website
Subscription based, either residentially or commercially.
List of recyclables on website.
Food Donations
Reducing waste can also mean giving back to the local community. Below are resources to help you donate excess food.
Food can be dropped off at several locations, including police substations and public libraries during subjective business hours (https://www.rrfb.org/about-us/our-food/food-drop-off-sites/)
Accepts perishable and non-perishable goods (List of acceptable foods on website)
Accepts perishable and non-perishable goods (List of acceptable foods on website)
Wardrobe & Set Decoration Donations
Reducing waste can also mean giving back to the local community. Below are resources to help you donate excess food.
Accepts lightly used clothing items.
List of needed items on website, needs many more household items than clothes.
This warehouse stores thousands of unique items for use as props in film and TV productions. Items are available for rent or sale. Donations of set pieces and props are accepted.
List of acceptable items on website (includes vehicle donations)
Green Dry Cleaners
Green dry cleaning uses solvents that are safer for the environment than perc. These alternative solvents include hydrocarbons, silicone oils, and carbon dioxide. These are all effective at removing dirt and stains from clothes, and they’re all safe for the environment.
Only has locations in Santa Fe.
Only green-certified cleaners in New Mexico.
Green Power Options
Green power is defined as electricity produced from solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, eligible biomass, and low-impact small hydroelectric sources.
- Incentives for using solar panels
- PNM Sky Blue
Desert Synergy is a business created with the intention of changing the landscape of mobile power.
Utilizing the VOLTstack product line we intend to evolve the mobile power landscape, sector and industry. We are doing so by replacing archaic emission based generators with reliable, clean and quiet power stations that can operate indoors and outdoors.
Desert Synergy is focused on providing the power needs to the film, television and special event industries.
- Dennis Muscari (505) 480-1039 desertsynergynm@gmail.com
- 5K + 30K Voltstack generators
Solar generators + Light towers
Light towers
Travel & Transportation
Green transportation encompasses all environmentally friendly modes of transportation. Green transportation refers to a company’s practices to ensure that its vehicles and other modes of transportation are environmentally friendly.
Covers every area in NM that has charging station(s)
Link is to website with more hotlinks covering schedules for weekdays, weekends, and holidays/special events.
- CABQ Transit info
- Has info about holidays, along with all of the routes and schedules for each bus
- Website shows map of where the station is, as well as destinations
- The only electric car they rent are Teslas
- They do rent hybrids
- Working to build fleet
- Kind of like AirBnB for cars: People rent out their personal cars to others
- Not nearly as many EV’s but some
Travel & Transportation: Electric and Conventional Bikes
- Open seven days a week with extended hours
- Family owned
- Large selection of bikes
- Listed on website
- Does long term leasing and rentals
- Also does tours
- Located in more Northeastern ABQ
- Have hourly, half day, and full day rental rates
- Two hour, four hour, and full day bike rentals
- Sells and rents e-bikes
- ABQ and Santa Fe
- Also does E-bike rentals
Contains in depth information of each path listed on the map
Green Supplies (Cleaning, Catering, CoVid, etc.)
● Has sanitation products and sterilization
● Products such as disposable utensils, cups, plates, and other things for catering
Training
Founded in 2011, Albert supports the global Film and TV industry to reduce the environmental impacts of production and to create content that supports a vision for a sustainable future.
Reel Green™ training provides knowledge and skills to British Columbia’s motion picture industry and crews to deepen their climate literacy, measure the impact of their productions and get tools, resources and information to reduce impact on set.
Sustainability FAQs
Albuquerque is experiencing a large increase in film production with its growing impact on our community. Here are a few frequently asked questions about sustainability.:
What is sustainability?
The word sustainability comes from ‘to sustain’, which essentially means to provide support and prolong or preserve something. What we hope to preserve and support is life on planet earth. Thinking about this definition, we can view sustainability as an approach to life that causes the least possible harm to the natural world or living organisms.
Why is sustainability important?
The main goal of sustainability is to protect the planet so that future generations don’t have to suffer. Ultimately, we only have finite resources on this planet, but we’re currently not being considerate of that.
Our actions now shouldn’t be at the expense of our fellow creatures or humans, so it’s important to be aware of sustainability in our daily lives so we don’t cause more irreparable damage to Earth.
Is being sustainable difficult?
It’s not always easy trying to make sustainable choices in a society where overconsumption and endless consumerism is encouraged, not only by the world’s biggest corporations, but also by some governments. It is important to integrate sustainability costs when drafting a production’s initial budget.
However, more companies and governments are paying attention to sustainability than ever before, making it easier to make more informed and ethical choices. It may require a bit more research, but the benefits are endless.
What are the benefits of working in sustainability environment?
Working in sustainability can be very rewarding because you know you’re having a positive impact on the world. Small actions by individuals really add up to make a difference. Changing old habits and making new ones add to the green paradigm shift.
Why is corporate sustainability important?
Corporate sustainability efforts are essential because just 100 companies are responsible for over 70% of emissions. More corporations are taking action and even more should be encouraged and supported.
For Vendors
Please tell us what green or sustainability resources you can provide to the film community. Send with a link to your website to: rcavalier@cabq.gov
