Toolbox for Green Innovation
A Practical Guide for Film Professionals
Ecosystems / Denmark
Denmark
Industry-driven change: No government law, but major broadcasters (DR, TV2) and production funds now require sustainability plans and CO₂ reports.
Established tools and training: Use of the Green Producers Tool and the Nordic-wide Sustainability Manager training through The Danish Film School.
Nordic collaboration: Denmark is helping shape the joint Nordic Ecological Standard for green film production (pilot in 2025).
1. Overview
The Danish film industry is characterized by a strong domestic market and a high degree of public funding, which drives an annual production output of 20-25 feature fiction films.
Danish films have a strong track record at international Festivals in terms of fiction films as well as documentaries, and to some extent they travel internationally in theatres and VoD catalogues. From 2026, Denmark will also have a production rebate scheme, allocating EUR 17 million (DKK 125 million) annually.
The Green Producers Club has gathered and analyzed data about the emissions of 100 finished productions from Denmark and Norway, all from 2024. The illustration below shows where the emission comes from. The data clearly shows that transport is the biggest emitter of CO₂ in Danish and Norwegian production, and there is a great window of opportunity to reduce this emission.
Based on a selection of 64 Danish productions from the 2024-2025, including both film and TV productions as well as fiction and entertainment, the average emission per Danish production amounts to 103.7 tons of CO₂.
2. National Guidelines for Sustainable Film Production
The BFTP Alliance (Sustainable Film and TV Production) is a project under the cluster organization Vision Denmark. The alliance works across the industry to support the transition of Danish film and TV production to a more sustainable practice.
The alliance is supported by The Danish Film Institute (DFI) and the regional film funds Film Fyn and The West Danish Film Fund, the broadcasters DR, TV2, and VIAPLAY Group, the Producer’s Association, and The Ministry of Culture. These key players in the Danish film industry constitute an important alignment on sustainability and serve as a collective front that helps direct the rest of the Danish industry towards stronger commitments to green production.
The national broadcasters DR and TV2, which are both obligated to invest in Danish film production, have decided to implement comprehensive measures to make sure that the productions on the platforms are making progress towards a more sustainable practice.
From 2024, DR and TV 2 demand that all in-house and external productions are obligated to deliver a sustainability plan, and for productions for TV 2, they also have to use a carbon calculator to make a CO₂e budget and a CO₂e report.
Both DR and TV 2 have a license agreement for the Green Producers Club’s carbon calculator tool: Green Producers Tool, which is free to use for all DR and TV 2 productions. DR and TV 2 also promote the Green Handbook and the Green Film Rating System.
These measures represent a vital step for Danish film and especially TV production, as many production companies depend on the support from the broadcasters. It is also a sign of how aligned on sustainability the institutions are across the industry.
3. Legislation
There are no official governmental action plans specifically committing the Danish film industry at large to sustainability measures.
Likewise, The Media Agreement 2023-2026 and The Film Agreement 2024-2027, which are the political foundations for the film support system in Denmark, don’t address sustainability.
4. Handbooks
One of the outcomes of BFTP is the Green Handbook, which is a document that guides Danish productions. The handbook is based on the Trentino Green Film rating system. It provides a detailed review of the process of obtaining a Green Film certificate. To complete the Green Film Rating System, a production must make a sustainability plan and implement sustainability measures in the production. If the criteria are met and approved by the independent verifying body, a film or TV production can use the Green Film label.
Besides being responsible for the Handbook, BFTP also functions as an advisor to the film industry, and they offer courses in sustainable production.
5. Green Consultants & Managers
Denmark has several profiles that have specialized in green consultancy. They all work with sustainability in various ways. Some are private actors, while others have been trained at The Danish Film School.
Caroline Gjerulff, BFTP (Vision Denmark/Danish Producers’ Association), holds the position of project manager of the BFTP Alliance and film commissioner. She works in Vision Denmark, focusing on sustainability in the film and television industry, with a particular emphasis on the green transition in productions. She is one of the driving forces behind the Danish initiative BFTP – Sustainable Film and TV Production, an industry alliance which aims to make the film and tv production more environmentally friendly through the development of guidelines, tools, and knowledge sharing.
Annee Helvig Frost is the first Sustainability Manager in Denmark working for SF Film. Besides her work as Sustainability Manager, she has also been a founding partner of Nordic Eco Media Alliance, which is “a knowledge-sharing network that promotes sustainable development and climate action within the Nordic audiovisual industries. It was established in 2020 by seven sustainability experts from five Nordic countries”. Her slate includes several appearances as a sustainability expert at various festivals and conferences across Europe and especially the Nordics.
Ege Heckman is CEO of The Green Producers Club and helps production companies acquiring the Green Film label as described above. Like Caroline Gjerulff, Ege Hackman has a strong network and is working fulltime strengthening the green agenda in the film and tv industry.
As mentioned above, SF Film was the first to hire a dedicated sustainability manager, but other larger production companies, such as Nordisk Film Productions and Zentropa, have also opened positions for sustainability managers, enabling them to have a consistent workflow and focus on sustainability across the organization.
6. Green Education
Nordic Sustainability Manager Training Course is co-financed by The Nordic Film & TV Fond and is one of the results of the Green Theme year in 2023. The course is initiated by the Nordic institutes and film schools, and in Denmark the five participants graduated in 2024. The course was held at the Danish Film School as a part of their continous traning system, and the concept of the training course is to educate sustainability experts who can facilitate the green training afterwards, creating a system where the students will be the teachers in the future.
The course is held with help from Hochschule der Medien in Stuttgart, where the framework for the course stems from.
As a part of the work done by the BFTP, they facilitate several courses and workshops regarding the topic, inviting the industry to become a part of the green agenda.
At Multiplatform and Storytelling Production, which is a professional bachelor's degree programme that educates international candidates for the modern film industry, students learn how to tell stories using a variety of media platforms. Subjects cover technical, creative, and business aspects relevant to future storytelling professionals. As a part of the academic regulations, sustainability is mentioned as a part of the curriculum for Multiplatform Producing – Business Entrepreneurship.
7. Co-Production
DFI supports 5-9 minor feature co-productions with a budget of 1.6 million euros per year. While there are requirements regarding having a Danish film crew on board, there aren’t any sustainability demands.
8. Prospects & Plans
At the moment, the Nordic film institutes, public service actors, and major streaming services are working on aligning their demands on the industry for sustainability. Hopefully, from 2026, this will result in a common Nordic standard, the Nordic Ecological Standard, based on the ecological standards from Germany. For now, the aim is that there will be a trial period in 2025 where the standards will be rolled out in the Nordic countries.
Nordic Ecological Standard (NES) – A Common Framework for Sustainable Film Production
The Nordic Ecological Standard (NES) is a joint initiative developed by the five Nordic film institutes, as well as the Nordisk Film & TV Fond. It builds on proven ecological standards from Germany and Austria and has been created in close collaboration with broadcasters, producers, and industry organizations. The agreement also includes the Danish Producers’ Association, DR, and TV 2, along with a total of 34 Nordic funds and organizations that are committed to adopting the standard within the coming years.
NES is designed to guide film and television productions towards more sustainable practices, helping to lower CO₂e emissions and reduce resource use throughout all stages of production – from early planning to post-production and will be rolled out in 2026.
The framework is built on three principles: resilience, credibility, and transparency. It sets out mandatory requirements alongside long-term targets, ensuring that productions take concrete steps today while also working towards more ambitious goals in the future.
The measures cover six key areas:
General requirements: management commitment, a dedicated green consultant, and CO₂ calculations.
Transport: fewer flights, more public transport, and the use of low-emission vehicles.
Energy: prioritizing renewable electricity and limiting the use of generators.
Accommodation & catering: eco-certified hotels, vegetarian catering, and no disposable tableware.
Materials: reusing sets, props, and costumes, choosing certified sustainable wood, and separating waste.
Biodiversity: protecting sensitive environments during location shoots.
By integrating these standards into budgets and workflows, NES makes sustainability a natural part of film and TV production. It represents a shared Nordic commitment to lowering the industry’s environmental footprint and building a greener future for screen storytelling.
9. Links
Danish Sustainable Film and TV Alliance:
https://www.dfi.dk/en/english/how-co-produce-denmark
https://nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/industry-insights?topic=319478
TV2 on Sustainable production (In Danish):https://producent.tv2.dk/baeredygtig-produktion/
The Media Agreement 2023-2026 (In Danish ): https://kum.dk/fileadmin/_kum/1_Nyheder_og_presse/2023/Medieaftale_for_2023-2026__Samling_om_frie_medier_og_staerkt_dansk_indhold_-_TG.pdf
BFTP Green Handbook (In Danish): https://cdn.prod.websitefiles.com/5e2aabb847a6a2ca7c5da2c7/671b88deacc95e6889bed122_BFTP_m_forside.pdf
The Film Agreement 2024-2027 (In Danish): https://kum.dk/fileadmin/_kum/1_Nyheder_og_presse/2023/Filmaftale_2024-2027.pdf
Trentino Green Film Rating System: https://www.green.film/
Viaplay Group on Sustainability: https://www.viaplaygroup.com/sustainability
DFI Minor Co-production: https://www.dfi.dk/en/english/how-co-produce-denmark
TV2 Sustainable Production (In Danish): https://producent.tv2.dk/baeredygtig-produktion/
About Green Producers Club: https://www.greenproducers.club/
DR about sustainable film production: https://www.dr.dk/om-dr/nyheder/dr-tager-naeste-skridt-i-indsatsen-baeredygtig-produktion
Nordic Film TV Fund about Nordic Sustainability Training Course:https://nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/news/stories/nordisk-film-tv-fond-nordic-green-theme-year-closes-with-expanded-collaborations-for-2024
About Multiplatform Storytelling and Production (in Danish): https://www.via.dk/uddannelser/multiplatform-storytelling-and-production
About Multiplatform Storytelling and Production Academic Regulations: https://www.via.dk/-/media/VIA/uddannelser/multiplatform-storytelling-and- poduction/dokumenter/msp_studieordning_2024_FINAL.pdf
About Nordic Eco Media Alliance: https://www.nema.network/
About Green Toolkit Film & TV on Nordic Eco Media Alliance: https://www.greentoolkit-filmtv.eu/nordic-eco-media-alliance-nema/
About Continous Training at the Danish Film School:https://www.filmskolen.dk/en/courses
The Danish Film Institute on Danish films internationally:https://www.dfi.dk/en/english/two-danish-films-shortlisted-oscars
The Danish Film Institute on new Sustainability Managers: https://www.dfi.dk/nyheder/her-er-filmbranchens-nye-danske-baeredygtighedseksperter
The Danish Ministry for Culture on new Chairman for The Danish Film Institute:https://kum.dk/aktuelt/nyheder/jesper-nygaard-er-ny-bestyrelsesformand-for-det-danske-filminstitut
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