The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
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it requires balancing the artistic vision of the director, finan- cial constraints, logistical requirements and environmental responsibility. "I think everyone wants to be green, to be a good steward of the environment," says Palmer, "but actu- ally, acting on that is a different matter." Leaving the environment in better condition than we found it is difficult for all industries. We operate in a linear econo- my—take, make, dispose—which is inherently wasteful. And the film industry is no different. On many productions, while specific locations may be preserved, the waste byproducts can be considerable. There's a risk of having an out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality. "As far as the film industry goes, I bristle when people say it's a green industry, because it is not," says Palmer. "When you look at the energy footprint of most films and TV series, it is extensive, from all the production vehicles, generators powering lights, the massive amounts of materials used to construct sets that are usually sent to the landfill, and on and on." But the industry continually strives for excellence—and this is expanding to include excellence in sustainability as well. Many studios are working to change production customs and incorporate the ideas of a circular economy, where ma- terials are reused and recycled. In 2015, when 20th Century Fox announced that The X-Files would return to television, the studio also committed to be- ing more environmentally responsible. The crew, with the help of Green Spark Group, found ways to make the produc- tion sustainable. They chose a hauler that would divert con- struction and demolition waste, placed recycling and compost bins on set, replaced plastic water bottles with reusable bottles and five-gallon jugs of water, used LEDs wherever possible, and fueled their vehicles and generators with bio-fuel blends. Ulti- mately, production recycled 100 percent of the aluminum and steel used in set production, diverted more than 81 percent of total waste from the landfill, and avoided 33 tons of CO2 emis- sions—generating cost savings of almost $41,000. But there's still room for improvement. At the time of this writing, Fox produced a new season of The X-Files, and once again, the studio has committed to making the production sustainable. "This time around, we kicked off the sustainable production conversation with the data from the last season. We knew what was possible, we had a benchmark and we knew where we wanted to focus our at- tention and improve," says Harris. "During pre-production, we spoke with many crew members from all departments to talk through how to integrate sustainable production into their work, and we continue to check in and serve as a resource during production. Our approach is holistic—everyone is re- sponsible for the footprint of the production and contributes in some form to help it reach its sustainability goals." The Location Department on The X-Files is working to make waste management effective and easy. "The main thing with our location team was doing some training on setting up vari- ous receptacles for each category of refuse. At first, we had five or six different containers for everything from compost to paper and cardboard, soft plastic, hard plastic, cans and regu- lar trash. But this system was too complicated and onerous," said Palmer. "The biggest challenge in implementing sustain- able production practices is finding what works and getting