The course towards an economically and environmentally sustainable audiovisual industry
More than a year from the presentation of the “Spain Audiovisual Hub of Europe” Plan, from where the Spain Audiovisual Hub came from, the instrument of collaboration between government and agents of the sector that constitutes a centralized point of information on the industry within and beyond our borders, it is worth recalling one of the axes that inspire it: sustainability in its double economic and environmental dimension.
The Plan is one of the main lines of action defined by the Digital Spain Agenda which seeks to promote the digital transformation of the country in parallel with the transformation of the economic and social model based on environmental sustainability, pointing out that “digitalisation is an essential pillar that will help us to build a more resilient and cleaner economy, based on energy efficiency, sustainable mobility and the circular economy, among others”.
Along the same lines, this year’s update of Digital Spain 2026 places the promotion of different economic activities in line with the double transformation: digital and green. This new document, with regard to the Plan to Boost the Audiovisual Industry, includes the actions already carried out and underway that are the basis for the economically sustainable development of the audiovisual industry. The European funds Next Generation EU funds, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, have provided a unique opportunity to set the audiovisual industry on a course towards a future of sustainable growth, adaptation to new technologies and incorporation of innovation processes in content production. Likewise, with a view to the next milestones of the Plan, one of the objectives for 2026 is to “enhance the environmental sustainability of the audiovisual industry”.
Getting the European audiovisual industry to move towards environmental sustainability is an objective adopted in the European Union that requires the adoption of common criteria to be incorporated by the member states. Along these lines, the report commissioned by the Commission entitled “Greening the European Audiovisual Industry” was published in June 2021. The study establishes the following as potential results, under the umbrella of the “Green Audiovisual Industry Deal”:
– Savings in energy consumption that can be passed on to costs that will be used to refinance projects, people and companies.
– Investments in Green Technologies will create new business opportunities as well as jobs, being financed in a few years by Return on Investment (ROI) for the large amounts of money invested.
– Positive effects that spill over to other industries creating a “Green Domino Effect beneficial in terms of turnover, innovation and motivation.
The growth of the audiovisual industry in Spain and in Europe cannot ignore the necessary balance between this growth and compliance with the objectives set by agreements and policies on carbon footprint reduction. Promoting this balance is in the DNA of the Spain Audiovisual Hub, which requires public-private collaboration between the Administration and the sector’s associations within the framework of the Public-Private Collaboration Forum established by the Plan. At this stage, no agent forming part of our industry is oblivious to this issue. The tacit consensus is full and has to be converted into recommendations and standards that will turn our industry into a model of a profitable and green economy.
By Francisco Asensi/Spain Audiovisual Hub.
