Soap operas have always been a forum to tackle society’s most important topics, not only with the hard-hitting storylines they portray but also in what happens behind the scenes.
With sustainability playing an increasingly key part in TV and film production, one of the industry’s most enduring and resilient genres is leading the way when it comes to pioneering greener ways of working. If you can do it on a soap without derailing the moving train that has to produce hundreds of episodes a year, you can do it anywhere.
As Head of Production Sustainability for ITV Studios, Phil Holdgate is responsible for the carbon footprint of Coronation Street and Emmerdale, Britain’s longest and second longest-running soaps respectively, neither of which would’ve have lasted so long without a bit of future proofing. Sustainability is in soaps’ DNA.
“Soaps are a bit of an outlier in the industry because they are ongoing,” begins Holdgate, speaking exclusively to Radio Times. “That allows you to try things on a short-, medium- and long-term basis which is almost impossible on other genres. Often, you don’t know if a programme will be recommissioned so it’s harder to put plans in place.
“On a soap you can implement new methods and quickly get a grip on how they work. They are established, incredible machines, it’s not a sporadic supply chain of freelancers that keep them going.
“The teams on a soap are open to trying new things and discovering the benefits, which can then be shared with wider production teams and the external industry.”
Holdgate has been involved with production sustainability since the industry recognised its importance, back in the early 2000s. As a production accountant exploring more efficient ways to make TV, he was there at the start of the BAFTA Albert organisation, created to support and regulate the industry in reducing the environmental impact of production.
Being the nation’s longest-running dramas, Corrie and Emmerdale were quickly identified as guinea pigs to apply early carbon footprint calculators and trial more environmentally friendly working practices.
“Most of Corrie is made on the same site,” he explains. “It’s very contained and condensed. We’ve been at MediaCity since 2013 and the infrastructure of the building means it has been run from renewable energy for a while.
“Emmerdale has a different inbuilt challenge in that there’s a 10-mile gap between the interior studios in Leeds and the exterior village set, so more transport is required to get from A to B.
“Both productions have implemented electric vehicles in the fleet at a faster rate than the wider industry, as we’ve been able to implement a long-term strategy. Apart from that, each show has similar issues with regard to sustainability and constantly share knowledge and exchange experiences.”
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Just over a decade ago, while in a project manager role at the network, Holdgate was asked to lead on an internal programme called the Green Team as a step to more eco-conscious production, an initiative that is still in operation.
By 2020, it had helped ITV sign off on its net zero commitment as a business and set out its green targets as a corporation – leading to the creation of Holdgate’s position as an all-seeing eye over the company’s sustainability culture and responsibilities.
“ITV Studios is very much a commercial producer and part of a corporate business, but we can’t just throw money at things and hope to fix them,” he candidly admits. “With my accountant head on you need to look at what’s good for the bottom line, what’s also good for the planet, and what’s good for people working on the shows. I feel like sustainability encompasses all three things, and I personally try to implement that across our approach.
“The soaps are so invested in this topic now, my involvement at this point is where we can drive best value for money, such as procuring big quantities of electric vehicles for example. I give guidance and support but don’t need to be there day in, day out, because sustainability should be part of everybody’s job. The soaps are the embodiment of that line of thinking.”
As a lifelong soap fan who started out as a runner on Emmerdale in his teens, Holdgate admits these shows are close to his heart, so it’s no coincidence how integral they are to ITV’s sustainability efforts. The aforementioned Green Teams remain a vital part of Emmerdale and Corrie’s infrastructure, as Holdgate proudly extols.
“The soaps each have their own teams who share ideas on various initiatives. Their use of LED lighting in studios is at the cutting edge of implementation, it reduces energy use by almost 90 per cent compared to old-fashioned tungsten lights. That makes the decision to use clean energy a lot more straightforward.
“Half the energy for Emmerdale’s Leeds building comes from solar power, which wouldn’t be possible without having low-energy lighting. Both productions reuse sets and costumes as much as they can. Removing single-use coffee cups and replacing with mugs was another simple, incremental switch that made a huge difference.
“ITV’s Green Teams also get involved with volunteer work, I know Emmerdale’s have got their hands dirty and gone out planting in fields and things like that. They’re always looking for ways they can have that direct connection to nature and the climate.”
Similarly, BAFTA Albert brings the ITV soaps together with contemporaries EastEnders and Hollyoaks to discuss issues affecting the whole genre. “Having them convene industry-wide conversations is absolutely vital, I’m pleased we have that platform. If we’re struggling with something there are dedicated experts we can swap notes with.
“Often there are systemic shifts that affect everyone, last year an initiative called Spark was launched to stop the industry using diesel generators and onto clean technology by 2030. A road map was created to push us all in the same direction. Collaboration and openness like that keeps the whole conversation ticking along.”
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To reflect Britain becoming keener to go greener, subtle nods have crept into the fabric of soaps’ fictional communities: “Weatherfield Recycling” posters adorn the noticeboard of Roy’s Rolls, the residents of Emmerdale have the correct wheelie bins to properly manage domestic waste, charging points for electric cars can be seen on screen – it all fits with making sustainability a part of everyday life.
“You can see that sense of progress,” smiles Holdgate. “An embedded culture of sustainability ripples through both soaps, on and off screen. It’s become business as usual for them and shows where British society is at.”
As for the genre’s future, Holdgate is as confident as one can be in an ever-changing landscape full of environmental and creative threats.
“We’ve spent a lot of time and effort looking at the risk of climate change to ITV as a business. The number one risk by a long way is the impact of extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent and severe. Soaps are incredibly resilient and agile, they can quickly adjust and reset. We want to protect their longevity and ensure they can adapt and mitigate to the impact of climate change, that is super important to us.
“I think they are in good shape, but if you think about it they’ve always been future-facing. Soaps can’t be left to rot, they have to keep renewing themselves. The sets must be built to last – although occasionally we do build houses that have to collapse on purpose if there’s a big disaster!”
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm and Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1. Both can be streamed from 7am that day on ITVX.
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