Production Services & Sustainability
Production Services are an inhouse equipment hire facility for the BBC. We hire out cameras, lighting, sound equipment etc to BBC productions and provide coaching and support.
Production Services was created as an innovative way to prevent individual BBC productions, or departments, from purchasing their own equipment, using it for a limited time and then prematurely disposing of it well before the end of the equipment’s operational lifespan. By acting as a logistical focal point we are able to exert greater purchasing power and attain “bulk” discounts, which saves the BBC money and increases the usage of items purchased.
One of our core remits is to limit the amount of technology that is discarded within the BBC. Our operation is designed to maximise the utilisation of our assets as efficiently as possible. With our regular maintenance and remedial engineering service, we always strive to repair rather than to replace. This has the effect of extending the operational lifespan of our assets beyond the conventional standard.
Newly purchased kit is modified to improve the ergonomics and make it easier to use. We provide custom engineering solutions to various weak points of equipment (e.g. strengthening vulnerable camera hinges) to ensure that we reduce the likelihood of damage and maximise the asset’s lifespan.
Once equipment has reached the end of its operational life span we either dispose of the equipment in accordance with BBC guidelines (e.g. WEEE) or sell the equipment to an approved BBC supplier who is certified to correctly dispose of the equipment or resell the equipment onto the second hand market.
What we have done in the past
Plastic bags purchased by Production Services has reduced from 2000 per year to 0. In the past Production Services would supply plastic bags with our smaller hire kits. The bags were designed to be re-used but would often break or get disposed of by our customers. Along with the negative environmental impact of this it would cost the BBC around £1200 per year.
Since November 2018 Production Services have been providing re-useable cloth bags instead. Customers now tend to bring these back with their kits and we wash them when necessary to get the maximum use out of them. Although these bags are much more expensive they have a considerably longer life span and so far it has cost the BBC less than £100 per year on average.
Productions often require to collect/return kit outside our opening hours so we leave an envelope at NBH reception for them so they can access our lockers. The paper envelope contains a A4 sheet of paper with directions and a return envelope.
Since the pandemic, there has been greater demand for these lockers and during busy periods we would use up to 40 paper envelopes and 20 A4 sheets per day. We have addressed this and now provide a laminated sheet in a plastic wallet, which means we can rub off the current details and re-use.
We have 50 of these in use and there will be no need to buy anymore or use any more paper envelopes or A4 sheets of paper.
The pandemic also highlighted how much waste can be produced when cleaning equipment and accessories.
We were initially provided with disposable wipes and gloves by BBC facilities. Due to the amount of kit we have to sterilise we could use up to 100 wipes per day and 10 pairs of disposable gloves per staff member, per day.
After a few days of this, I informed facilities that we will no longer be needing any more disposable wipes or gloves.
We now use microfibre cloths that are washed and re-used. We combine this with an IPA solvent and also make up our own mixture of IPA and distilled water in reusable spray bottles.
Each team member now has their own set of rubber gloves that they can sterilise after use rather than throw them away.
What we have done recently
We have replaced plastic with biodegradable bags for our smaller accessories and has replaced our plastic bags for our cleaning kits with biodegradable paper ones.
We have been providing rechargeable batteries with our hire kits since 2006 and since December 2020 we now only sell rechargeable batteries to BBC productions.
All Production Services have been assigned the BBC Greener Broadcasting module as a mandatory training requirement. Staff members are also encouraged to feedback any ideas they have on how we can reduce our environmental impact.
We have updated our asset management system and processes so we no longer print physical delivery notes for customers and digitally send them PDFs instead. We also use our system to manage our POs and stock deliveries so there is no unnecessary printed paperwork.
We have replaced the majority of our desktop PCs in the office (and multiple monitors) with less power-hungry laptops. We have also invested in biodegradable/recyclable packing tape.
Instead of using single use gaffer tape to label up our equipment for our customers, we have invested in re-usable tags to minimise waste
We have contacted suppliers, such as Sennheiser, to encourage them to reduce their packaging on equipment we purchase from them – and have offered to send packaging back to be re-used. We also re-use packaging and boxes from suppliers for office tools etc.
What we are doing going forward
To limit the amount of disposable windshields that production use with their lapels mics we have been working closely with Rycote to develop a reusable, more effective solution. Design has been finalised and tested and these should be in circulation within the next month.
We produce bespoke camera guides for productions and although they can be downloaded from our website, customers are unable to access these when off the BBC network, so they prefer paper copies – which can be around 40 pages long. In future we will provide users with a QR code on their confirmation emails and on a small label placed on the equipment bags. Scanning the code, or following the provided short url, will take them to a dropbox folder where all the relevant information can be accessed and downloaded. The user will not have to be signed into dropbox or have the app installed to use this service.
Our department and staff genuinely care about reducing our carbon footprint and we are constantly looking for ways to improve this. This includes regular staff feedback, speaking to the BBC sustainability team and other BBC departments to see how we can work together to achieve this goal
