This initiative is part of a broader effort on the part of the News Corporation, the parent company of FOX, which airs the show. Rupert Murdoch, the company’s chairman, announced last year that he intends to make the corporation carbon-neutral by 2010, according to an article in the March 1 issue of The New York Times.
Making the show carbon-neutral was no simple task, though.
“It’s an unlikely show … and it wasn’t easy,” Gordon said. “There were definitely easier shows [FOX] had to make carbon efficient.”
Gordon said this project provided an opportunity to combine his personal commitment to environmentalism with his high-profile show, explaining that this connection made a “good marriage.”
The show began by calling in experts to conduct an energy audit and draw up a plan, Gordon explained. Then the show’s crew began to implement the changes, many of them small, recommended by the experts. These steps really “required little effort,” Gordon said.
To reduce paper waste, printing related to the show was done on recycled paper, and the 150 copies of the script used for each episode were digitized. To conserve energy, compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs were installed. And to reduce fuel consumption, hybrid vehicles and trucks running on five-percent biodiesel were used to ferry scripts, and the show’s generators were converted to use biodiesel.
FOX’ efforts at greening its production practices have enjoyed success so far, Gordon said. Changes to the operation of the show were a first important step in pursuing carbon-neutral status, but to fully realize what Gordon calls an “ambitious goal,” the show had to purchase carbon credits.
Carbon credits are financial allowances aimed at offsetting carbon output by developing technologies that decrease carbon emissions in other locations. Gordon explained that he was “skeptical of” the choice to purchase carbon credits, explaining that they were very expensive.
“Because this [initiative] was a corporate mandate, it can be a little misleading,” Gordon said. “Whatever shortfall we had, we paid for by buying carbon credits. [But] we can’t always do everything. I think we tried to do too much. But I think it is a great goal and I’m glad to be a part of it. We are adapting, promoting more conscious behavior.”
FOX’ efforts to reduce the carbon footprint at “24” may lead to the implementation of environmentally conscious practices in the production of other primetime shows, Gordon said.
“This was a first step in a corporate mandate, and I can’t tell if it did much. [But] we proved this was possible … and may inspire competition, which is a good thing,” Gordon explained. “Behavior is like concentric circles. It [can be] modified.”
Gordon explained that not everyone working at “24” was receptive to the changes, though. Those cooperating with the initiative would compensate for less than complete participation by doing things like turning off lights left on by their coworkers when they left for the restroom.
“Some people did not politically or socially believe and were resentful,” Gordon said. “Those less inclined [to change] were cast in darkness.”
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