The Los Angeles Post

Fox 2000 Goes Green Behind the Scenes of Upcoming Drama Film “The Woman in the Window”

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As part of 21st Century Fox’s company-wide commitment to environmentally sustainable film and television production, film studio Fox 2000 recently led efforts to go green on the set of The Woman in the Window, an upcoming psychological thriller starring Amy Adams and Gary Oldman. By working with the sustainable production experts at Earth Angel, a New York-based consultancy that previously directed green initiatives on The Post, the crew was able to avoid the emission of 390 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, save more than $71,000, and divert 86% of on-set waste from going to a landfill, one of the highest waste diversion rates in the company’s history. The Woman in the Window is currently slated for release in October 2019.

Over the course of 53 shoot days in New York City, crewmembers from every department worked to set goals around energy conservation, materials recycling, and responsible sourcing, and craft the best strategies to meet those goals. Dedicated staff from Earth Angel tracked waste production on a daily basis in order to assess strategies’ effectiveness and develop new tactics along the way. This approach yielded a number of on-set successes, including the following:

  • The production banned single-use plastic water bottles and instead encouraged the use of refillable bottles, a measure that avoided the use of 57,600 plastic bottles.
  • Staff recycled 13 pounds of electronic waste, including printer cartridges, halogen lightbulbs, and more.
  • The crew also recycled 17 pounds of textiles such as clothing, towels, blankets, curtains, belts, and handbags, and donated 86,371 pounds of materials.
  • 47% of all lumber purchased was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
  • The Wardrobe Department purchased 25% of the movie’s costumes from thrift stores, rather than purchase new clothes from retailers.
  • 24 metric tons of CO2e were avoided through the use of hybrid vehicles alone.
  • The production partnered with Rock Can Roll to donate 1,700 pounds of leftover food to local shelters, charities, and food banks.

Measures like these allowed The Woman in the Window to divert 86% of the waste generated on set from the landfill, and achieve a 73% total waste diversion rate when factoring in waste produced in the production office and elsewhere. Earth Angel also recognized the Green Crew Member of the Week as a way of incentivizing participation in the sustainability program.

21CF regularly directs efforts to go green behind the scenes of its film and television productions, including recent projects such as Legion and The X-Files . The company was also one of the co-creators, alongside other Hollywood studios and the Producers Guild of America, of the Green Production Guide, a comprehensive collection of sustainability best practices and green vendors.