When I first decided to make Future Weather I thought the gods would condemn me to a life of shame and hypocrisy if I did not produce the most sustainable film possible. This was 2007. Al Gore had spoken. Peak oil was a hot topic. And ‘green’, ‘sustainability’, ‘local’ and ‘eco-consciousness’ were being trumpeted throughout the blogosphere.

How could I dare tell the story of a young environmentalist – and say something intelligent about global warming – through something as anti-environment as producing a low-budget independent film. Driving trucks all over creation, flying actors, painting sets, eating picnic-style everyday on plastic plates, craft services junk food and water bottles littering the set, not to mention all the energy-sucking lights and reams of paper wasted to print call sheets and script revisions! Overnight shipping!? Idling cars!!?

There had to be a better way…trucks and vans fueled by recycled vegetable oil, cast and crew re-pasting on unsprayed food grown down the road by bearded young beekeepers – with real plates and silverware! Lights powered by the sun and PAs riding bikes off-the-path of native grasses while reading the day’s call sheet on hemp paper!

There weren’t a ton of guidelines at the time for how to green a film set on-the-cheap, so I began researching sustainability in general, and what one could do to lower carbon emissions at home and at work. The results can be found on our blog, The Future Weather Report (and I’ve scattered several links throughout to some useful posts). What I found was that being green often means choices that require more time or more money than we’re accustomed to. And time and money are the things a low-budget filmmaker is always struggling to find more of.

I soon realized this green production experiment was a whole project unto itself. My deepest desire was to tell my story about a girl with a legitimate fear of what the future holds. Writing, directing and producing this independently on a shoestring budget would be ambitious enough without adding “zero carbon footprint” to the to-do list. Besides, one uber-green nut on a film set in Pennsylvania was not going to change the planet. A good film might have at least one iota more of a chance.

So I stepped back and tried to take a much more realistic and manageable approach. Here are 10 things I can pass on to you.

1. Let Go of Being a Saint

A film is a collaborative effort. Everyone involved is going to have a different experience level with your “eco-friendly” (read “annoyingly inconvenient and time-consuming”) practices, and some may have harder habits to break. Styrofoam’s going to happen. Plastic bags are going to happen. Try to roll with it. You’re also not going to think of everything. We certainly didn’t with Future Weather. And now I have much better ideas for how I’d do it next time. So set a practical goal for your production team and try to stick with it.

2. Attitude

Assign someone to be the ‘Green Deputy,’ the ‘Sustainable Foreman,’ the ‘Eco-Police.’ Whatever you want to call this person in your production, it’s probably a good idea to make it someone’s job from the start to set the tone and implement your production’s credo and guidelines. This was the approach we communicated:

“We are filmmakers first, green experts second. We consider ourselves real people trying an experiment in sustainability. Some of these things may be outside of your daily routine, but it should be fun. We’re all in it together. If there’s something you’re not sure about, just ask! For an indie film, the biggest limitations are time and money, so not everything is going to be 100% green. There will be hard choices!”

Feel free to borrow it or make it your own.

3. Recycle (And Reuse)

Everything can be recycled. Doesn’t mean it’s the most energy-efficient thing to do. But if it ends up in your possession, you have to figure out how it’s going to leave your possession. If you can’t reuse it, and it’s not biodegradable, then you can either sell it, throw it out, or recycle it. If your municipal recycling doesn’t take it, figure out who does in your area. If no one does, then try to cut down on using it. Show everyone where the recycling bins are, clearly label them, and slap their wrists when they throw that sugarcane plate with the oily salad dressing all over it in the bin for paper.

“Hello, dirty paper can’t be recycled!”

4. Water Bottles

There’s really no reason to continue the habit of providing plastic water bottles on-set. People will throw lots of them at you, but just nod and have your production manager try to get you a good deal on reusable bottles. Your crew will go for it just fine if you give them all their own stainless steel bottle with a caribiner and their names on it. Have PAs fill them with icy cold water whenever people ask — better yet, without having to. A few will get lost, but not a big deal compared to the amount of evil plastic you’re avoiding. (Though we still bought a couple of cases of bottled water in case of emergency.) Thank you, dear Carolina Roca-Smith for bringing this practice to our set!

5. Power Strips

Snooze. Boring. You know what those are and that they can be flipped off at the end of each day to stop your printer, coffeemaker, phone charger, and lamp from using vampire energy.

6. Save Paper

You don’t need to become a martyr for the forests. Just don’t waste paper. There are lots of practical, cost-saving ways to do this. Buy 100% recycled. Don’t be snotty about it. You’re working on a tar rooftop in 90-degree heat. Save scrap paper and print on the backs. Print scripts and call sheets double-sided, even 4-sided (faster read that way anyway) and cut the call sheets in fours. Use Google Docs or Dropbox for things you want to share. And relax. If it helps you do your job better or more efficiently to print something on paper once in awhile, so be it. God knows it wouldn’t hurt to plant more trees.

7. Feed People “Real Food”

Mass food production in the US has a huge carbon footprint. But it’s cheap. This is the indie filmmaker’s dilemma and it’s real. So let’s break it down. Food with a smaller carbon footprint can have multiple criteria: local, organic, seasonal, vegetarian. If you can’t afford them all, pick one, even if it’s as simple as getting a local orchard to donate a bushel of apples for craft services. Caterers who specialize in sustainable food are becoming more and more common, and are often willing to work out a deal with you that fits your budget (particularly if you tell them you have the same values, and are trying to figure out how to bring them to a low-budget film set).  Also, ask your crew if they’re willing to go vegetarian one or two days a week. That alone will cut down on a lot of emissions.

8. Compost

Let’s skip this one for now. Unless it got you a little excited! This idea really made my old hippie-child heart skip a beat. And it was much easier than we thought with the help of a progressive new company in Philadelphia called Philly Compost. They provided bins for our food scraps and would pick them up at the end of each day. Turns out our caterer, Cosmic Catering, also uses Philly Compost and provided us with a complete supply of compostable plates, cups, napkins, and utensils to enjoy it with. Full circle.

9. Partner

Small businesses and independent producers have a lot in common: entrepreneurialism. Whether you target local or green ones (both a hallmark of sustainability), many business owners will be willing to work out trade-offs simply based on your common goals or sense of camaraderie. They will also become champions of the film, which always helps the independent producer.

10. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

There’s a growing number of excellent resources out there for the independent producer who is interested in sustainability, and many local film offices are publishing their own. Here are several that come highly recommended:

Code of Best Practices in Sustainable Filmmaking, a collaboration between Filmmakers for Conservation and the American University School of Communication

SETS (Setting Environment Toward Sustainability), a green production guide created by set designer Karyn Gerred and the Greater Philadelphia Film Office

PGA Green, a website and green production guide from the Producers Guild of America – open to non-members!

EMA Green Seal Guidelines, a guide to best practices created by the Environmental Media Association