Sustainability
As a company, we have the responsibility and the obligation to make our contribution to environmental protection. Our goal is to anchor resource-saving and environmentally conscious thinking and action in front of and behind the camera. We are continuously reducing our emissions, both in our productions by implementing the Ecological Standards and in our business operations with our EMAS-validated environmental management system.
At its headquarters in Geiselgasteig, the Bavaria Film Group offers ideal conditions for green production thanks to a completely climate-neutral energy supply. The site was already awarded the Ökoprofit environmental certificate in 2014.
Green Production
Bavaria Fiction is a member of the "Green Shooting" working group, which has developed the Ecological Standards for Green Production together with broadcasters, production companies, VoD services and film funders and continues to develop them further.
Since the introduction of the Ecological Standards for Green Producing in 2022, more than 20 of our productions have already been awarded the 'Green Motion' label. In addition, our feature film "Tatort Köln: Pyramide" was nominated for the 'Eisvogel - Award for Sustainable Film Productions' in 2022. Green producing is becoming the norm in the industry and we want to lead the way.
Each of our productions is accompanied and supported by green consultants. We balance all CO2 emissions that occur during filming and document measures taken.
Mobility and transport are the biggest CO² drivers in film productions. We therefore rely on electric mobility, train journeys instead of air travel and overnight stays in environmentally certified hotels.
We use green electricity in the studio, fixed power connections instead of diesel generators on location and increase our energy efficiency, for example by using LEDs.
We strive for a circular economy in equipment and set construction. Under this premise, we pay attention to the reuse of materials, the avoidance of problematic materials and the use of environmentally certified materials.
We completely avoid disposable products such as cups and bottles in our green productions. At least one day per week is purely vegetarian, and a significant proportion of the food used comes from organic and regional sources.
Sustainable productions can be marked in the credits - for example with the 'green motion' label, the “climate-friendly production” logo of ZDF or a simple text reference. All Bavaria Fiction productions that have been successfully produced according to the ecological standards are marked on the respective page on our website.
The ‘green motion’ label makes productions in the German cinema, TV and online/VoD sector that were produced according to the ecological standards publicly visible. Since August 1, 2023, the label has been awarded exclusively by an external auditing body, the auditing firm PwC, on behalf of the “Green Shooting” working group.
In 2024, the working group and the label received the German Award for Sustainability Projects. The prize is awarded by the German Institute for Service Quality, the news channel ntv and the “DUP Unternehmer” magazine. In its statement, the jury praised, among other things, the depth of testing and breadth of application, the external testing procedure and the scientific monitoring of the label as well as the breadth of the working group.
Green Motion Productions
EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme)
Bavaria Fiction has been EMAS-certified since 2025 as the first leading film and series production company worldwide at its headquarters in Geiselgasteig. EMAS is the world's most demanding environmental management system, developed by the European Union and supervised by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. Our environmental management system supports us in extending our commitment to sustainable business practices to our entire company and in making environmental protection a natural part of our daily activities, as laid down in our environmental policy.
The basis for the success of any management system is the effective involvement of the workforce. Environmental protection officers have been appointed in each department and, together with our environmental management representative Tobias Wolf, they form the environmental team. Regular training and instruction ensure that employees act responsibly.
In a comprehensive environmental assessment, we have determined all environmentally relevant data from previous years. To implement our environmental policy, we have developed a catalog of measures, our environmental program. By defining goals and monitoring them, we ensure that we continuously improve our environmental performance:
Thanks to the use of green electricity, emissions in this area are already negligible. A further 4% reduction in electricity consumption is to be achieved through the increased use of energy-efficient LED technology and optimized lighting concepts.
Thanks to the increased electrification of the company car fleet, emissions in this area have already fallen by over 5%. The proportion of fossil fuels is to be reduced further with the ongoing switch to electric and hybrid vehicles.
Thanks to our focus on recycling, especially for props, set construction, and costumes, we already generate relatively small amounts of waste. We are consistently pursuing this approach in order to further reduce waste and keep resources in the cycle as much as possible.
Thanks to geothermal energy on the site, heat generation is already almost completely emission-free. The slight increase in consumption is mainly due to longer heating periods caused by weather conditions. We are aiming to reduce heat consumption by a further 4% in the future.
The average CO₂ emissions per minute of broadcasting are calculated from emissions across all environmental aspects and thus represent the most important benchmark for the success of our measures. Through the measures listed, particularly in relation to electricity consumption and fuel, we plan to achieve a further reduction of 3% by 2027.
Tobias Wolf - Senior Sustainability Manager
Senior Sustainability Manager, Tobias Wolf, is responsible for the management of the company's environmental protection measures and accompanies the EMAS validation process. In addition, as a Green Consultant, he is responsible for the sustainable planning and implementation of Bavaria Fiction's productions and coordinates our freelance Green Consultants.
"I am the green conscience of Bavaria Fiction, so to speak"