When we started working on the newly launched OLIO ad, we naturally felt it would have to be as green as green can be when it came to production. Not only is OLIO’s entire existence as a brand about reducing our impact on the planet, but the ad was one of the winners of the Sky Zero Footprint fund prize. If there was ever a way to test just how green a production could get, this would be it - but with the ambitious concept in mind, it was always going to be a challenge.

If you haven’t seen the ad, it features a choir of schoolchildren singing the classic ‘What a wonderful world’ on an actual, real-life rubbish dump in Wales. Just some lovely kids singing this beautiful song while we all survey the damage we’re inflicting on the planet and their futures. It was important that we shot on a real-life land-fill site (and not a CGI one) as we felt it was really important that the children singing witnessed the bleak reality of a UK land-fill site, and we feel that this impacted their performance positively.

So what did we do to ensure this was the greenest project we’d ever brought to life? And where were the limitations & challenges of this process? 

The nuts and bolts

To start with, we hired the best people we could who understood what we needed. That meant crew who were largely AdGreen trained, and so knew how to put eco filming into practice. 

We looked to work with local (to the land-fill site) crew to reduce unnecessary travel, we also hired kit locally and used public transport where possible. We worked with a company

called Eco Shoots which supplied environmentally-friendly equipment hire, including vegetarian and vegan catering, recycling facilities and eco portable toilets. We also asked everyone to bring their own refillable water bottles and coffee cups, and used an electric generator to power lights and charge batteries. 

The extras

The naturalistic style of the ad helped, and our stylist sourced clothes from charity shops and from the children themselves so nothing was bought brand new.

The location also helped - the fact that we filmed on a rubbish dump also made things a little easier as we were able to dress the site a little by moving objects around, and using other items from a nearby rubbish dump. 

The challenges

Despite all our best efforts, sometimes, there were no eco-friendly options available. 

For example - as the sun set, and light changed, we needed extra lighting. We tried to source LED lights for this, but there simply weren’t any powerful enough available.

Filming in an unusual location also meant getting to that location. And while most people who had to come from London used the train or bus where possible, we had to use the odd car here & there (also adhering to COVID redistricting, keeping people separated where possible).

We asked local firms for electric taxis and couriers, but there weren’t many to be had - an issue that’s going to persist outside of major cities until the infrastructure across the UK is improved. 

When we had no other choice, we made a note of it as something to consider and build into future shoots, perhaps by offsetting (in our minds, the last resort for ‘eco’ choices - it’s better to make a choice that means you don’t create unnecessary waste or carbon in the first place). 

Working on this shoot, however, was a real eye-opener about some of the decisions that are made automatically on other shoots and has definitely opened our eyes for the better.