Sustainability

Sustainability2023-11-30T12:03:01+00:00

#wearebottleyardGREEN

The 1MWp rooftop solar array that powers TBY2, our premium facility which opened in 2022

Roots in repurposing

The Bottle Yard’s seven acre main site on Whitchurch Lane was previously a winery and bottling factory. Its buildings were built in the 1950’s, and range in size from 7,000 – 200,000 sq ft. Business brought in by studio filming has created a continued use for these buildings, which had become vacant in 2010. We are essentially one enormous re-purposing project and this is something we are very proud of!

Our second facility, TBY2, is also a repurposed industrial site. Located nearby on Hawkfield Way, it was previously a gear manufacturing factory. It was transformed into a state-of-the-art, premium studio facility in 2022, following £12 million investment from the West of England Combined Authority.

Green Team

The Bottle Yard and Bristol Film Office are committed to reducing the carbon output generated by activities on site at TBYS and filming on location around the city, to align the production sector’s activities with Bristol’s ambitious target to become carbon neutral by 2030, as stated in Bristol’s One City Climate Strategy.

The Bottle Yard Studios archive photo – Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sherry (image courtesy of www.bristolpast.co.uk)

Together, we established our Green Team in 2020 and developed a medium-term Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan which seeks to implement a number of de-carbonisation projects to TBYS’s buildings and systems, to assist clients to become more sustainable whilst working at TBYS and/or filming on location in Bristol, and in turn, to enable productions to be successful BAFTA albert accredited projects.

As a UNESCO City of Film (designated in 2017), Bristol is committed to fully integrating culture and creativity into local strategies and plans for sustainable city development. Bristol UNESCO City of Film represents the many organisations and businesses that make up Bristol’s diverse film, TV and moving image sector. The work of TBYS and BFO’s Green Team complements the Bristol UNESCO City of Film 2021-25 Action Plan, which commits the sector to the delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals with a specific focus on SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Bristol City Council’s Energy Team is fully engaged with our Green Team. Together, we have implemented a number of de-carbonisation projects, focussing initially on reducing impact of scope 1 & 2 emissions.

Want to know more? Read our full Sustainability Statement here – or check out some of the headlines below.

BIG on solar

TBY2, our premium second facility which opened in 2022, hosts a gigantic 1MWp rooftop solar array consisting of more than 2,300 photovoltaic panels. Funded by the Bristol Energy Cooperative, it’s believed to the biggest community-owned solar rooftop array in the UK, capable of generating enough energy to power 250 average households per year. Read more here.

TBY2 rooftop solar array

Electric Vehicle charging

We offer a 22kw 3-phase fast EV charge point at our main site, where two vehicles can charge simultaneously at 7-22kW (depending on the vehicle). Charging costs £0.45 p/kWh and is available to site users only. Our EV point is part of the Revive Charging Network.

Industry collaboration

We fully support albert, the industry organisation working to enable every part of the screen industry to eliminate waste and carbon emissions from production. We promote albert’s green production tips and are committed to assisting productions to achieve albert accreditation. Click on the thumbnails below for examples of sustainable productions we’ve hosted.

A city-wide approach

The Bottle Yard Studios is a member of the Bristol Green Capital Partnership, a consortium of over 850 organisations pledging to “build a sustainable Bristol with a high quality of life for all.”

Carbon Literacy qualified

Our Business Manager Katherine Nash has undergone bespoke training delivered by BAFTA’s albert consortium to become our official Carbon Literacy representative.

Recycling

We provide recycling points in offices across our site and ask tenants to recycle wherever possible. We also provide productions with details of local companies that dispose of waste sustainably.

Suppliers

We encourage productions to use our on site suppliers as much as possible. Our tenant hub is home to more than 20 companies offering creative, digital, technical and audio/visual expertise, grips, transport, structural, fire and safety assistance. Each company shares our sustainability policy and commitment to keeping environmental impact low.

Set repurposing and storage

We encourage productions to avoid sending sets to landfill wherever possible. We advise them to enlist the help of companies like ReScene based on site, to help with prop and scenery removal. Our scenery store contains reusable flatage that incoming productions are invited to use free of charge. In many cases we connect incoming productions with outgoing ones, to encourage reuse of production office resources. We also connect productions to local charities and community initiatives that can benefit from materials when productions are finished with them.

Power

We have a rolling programme to replace existing lighting with LED lighting and have installed photo voltaic cells to provide solar power. We enable productions to work off local power in our build spaces.

Accommodation

We encourage productions to use local accommodation to reduce travel and supply a ‘digs list’ with details of everything from 5* hotels to spare rooms in local houses.

Resources, advice and events

We host regular free events, such as travel advice sessions and bike servicing, to help productions and tenants discover new ways to be sustainable.

We're pleased to share resources and reports like the ones below, produced by leading industry organisations to further the cause of sustainable TV & film production across the UK.

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