Toronto-based virtual production studio Dark Slope (pictured) and green-energy supplier Bullfrog Power are working together to give Dark Slope’s clients an easy way to make their productions more environmentally sustainable. 

Clients will be given the option to have Bullfrog offset their electricity usage at Dark Slope’s facilities by putting the same amount of green energy back into the power grid. This means that producers can, in essence, write off 100% of their greenhouse-gas emissions through an accountability device known as a renewable energy certificate (REC). 

RECs certify the amount of renewable electricity that comes from low- to zero-emissions sources. They are used worldwide to help companies prove that they have reduced their Scope 2 emissions, which primarily come from the indirect purchase of electricity, heating and cooling, says Alex Onwudiwe, a sales and account manager at Bullfrog Power. RECs can be used to verify that zero-/low-emissions renewable sources of electricity were used (or offset, in this case), which is especially helpful if broadcasters require an accounting of a production’s emissions. Companies can point to their RECs as proof that they are using zero-emissions electricity. 

Dark Slope is also offering its clients access to “a repository of information on green production, carbon calculators and sustainable practices” to help them become more familiar with sustainability best practices. 

As for Dark Slope itself, the company has made an arrangement to use Bullfrog’s clean electricity to power its back-office operations and supply studio energy for all of its own original productions shot in-house. Dark Slope is the first soundstage studio in Canada to sign this type of agreement with Bullfrog.