PARAMOUNT UK SETS OUT PEAK SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY

Seven climate action commitments established to accelerate change 

Channel 5 announces new environmental-focused commissions to bolster content library rooted in nature, conservation and wilderness 

Paramount has outlined an ambitious commitment to environmental sustainability with the introduction of a new strategy, Peak Sustainability, comprising seven key climate action pledges.  The new commitment is designed to drive collective change across Paramount’s UK business and with its suppliers, partners and audiences.

Peak Sustainability informs part of a longer-term vision for parent company, Paramount Global, which recently released its third annual environmental, social and governance (ESG) report, with the UK primed to spearhead the media organisation’s global sustainability roll-out.

The foundation of Paramount UK’s ecological transition is built upon seven key pledges to:

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• Reduce Paramount UK’s Scope 3 carbon emissions across the remainder of this decade
• Integrate positive environmental themes throughout Paramount UK’s content output
• Collaborate with UK broadcasters on research to understand our impact and inspire change
• Build environmental awareness and responsibility into the UK business 
• Be transparent about Paramount UK’s sustainability commitments and progress

As a Directorate member of albert and signatory of The Climate Content Pledge, free-to-air broadcaster Channel 5 is known for its deep library of programming anchored in environmental themes such as nature, seasonality and the countryside, from signature shows such as Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild and its slate of rural programmes, to children’s series, Go Green with the Grimwades andpartnerships with celebrated natural world institutions such as The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.  

Reinforcing Paramount’s position as a leading creator of socially impactful entertainment, Channel 5 continues to bolster its portfolio with two new commissions: Natural History Museum: Saving Planet Earth and Britain’s Poisoned Rivers: What Can You Do?  Aimed at raising awareness of the issues surrounding the global climate and nature crisis and encouraging positive behavioural change amongst its British audience, the new series will air in 2023. 

Paramount UK has long been committed to minimising its impact on the environment, fully embracing policies such as zero waste to landfill, chemical-free cleaning and the adoption of cloud migration as standard practice.  Paramount UK will implement a raft of new measures designed to further embed sustainability and its seven commitments into its culture including:

• Building a dedicated Sustainability Team, responsible for accelerating the work already under way
• The establishment of a Sustainability Board, allying its senior management team with employees to hold leadership to account and influence key decisions 
• The creation of a brand-new employee-led sustainability working group to help strengthen Paramount UK’s commitment and champion green initiatives
• An ongoing suite of training and engaging events and activities through its internal environmentally-themed Spark World week and beyond         
• Exploring the roll-out of an electric vehicle loan scheme for London-based employees via sustainable government tax benefits.

In addition, to reduce its Scope 3 emissions, Paramount UK will consider environmental impact and the sustainability ambitions and credentials of prospective suppliers in choosing its key partners.

“As a media company and public service broadcaster that entertains and informs millions of people in the UK, we must use our powerful voice to shape culture and social attitudes,” commented Maria Kyriacou, President & CEO, Paramount UK.  “Our Peak Sustainability campaign and the pledges we have made, will help us drive change and chart a path towards decarbonisation which is not only a business imperative, but essential for the future of our planet.”

As Paramount UK’s parent company, Paramount has a number of environmentally-focused initiatives underway in the United States including Paramount Pictures’ 2022 pledge to the Department of Energy’s Better Climate Challenge to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.  Meanwhile, Operation Sea Change, aims to divert and clean-up millions of tons of ocean plastic while engaging fans of SpongeBob SquarePants and the public on key restoration issues.  Paramount Global is also an active partner of the Sustainable Production Alliance (SPA), a consortium of Hollywood’s largest production companies dedicated to advancing sustainability in film and television.  

Paramount plans to use the findings from this ongoing UK pilot to assess its approach to scaling its efforts across its company-wide, global emissions footprint.