Tonight’s unique show (Monday 5 July) - a first for BBC regional news - will be presented by Janine Machin from the carpark of the BBC’s Cambridge studios, with power supplied by a hydrogen fuel cell generator, and cameras charged via solar panels.
With the help of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability at the University of Cambridge, the BBC Look East team measured their carbon footprint using industry tools and standards and discovered travel was their biggest carbon contributor. They were able to dramatically reduce this output by hiring electric cars for their reporting teams.
The vehicles were charged using solar panels, as were the on-location camera batteries and drones. Science Correspondent, Richard Westcott, went one step further and used an electric bike to travel to Swaffham Prior – to report on one of the UK’s first community ground source heat pumps.
Studio lighting was the second largest carbon emitter, so to reduce this the team decided to simply relocate outside, and will broadcast using natural light instead. Staff also increased their levels of car sharing and reduced their use of single-use plastics.
The BBC has committed to becoming net zero in its direct operations by 2030 and Look East’s carbon makeover is the launchpad for a week-long series of ambitious programmes tackling various environmental issues.
These include looking at local businesses thriving in the green economy, examining why the Government’s ‘Green Deal’ ran into trouble, and speaking to those for and against building a new energy from waste incinerator in the Fens.
Later in the summer Look East aims to provide carbon makeovers for viewers, sending experts into their homes to see what changes they can make to their carbon footprint.
As a result of the team effort Look East has become the first BBC regional news programme to be given an industry recognised ‘Albert certified’ sustainability accreditation by Bafta.
Look East Assistant Editor and project lead, Ian Kelly, says: “We wanted to find an exciting, challenging way to engage with our audiences on what can seem a daunting subject, and share some of the local challenges and solutions. Using no carbon is really tough, offsetting is one way to achieve carbon neutrality but we hope the journey we have begun will help contribute to a broader understanding of the challenges.”
Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director BBC Nations, says: “It’s vital that all organisations look carefully at their impact on carbon emissions and I’m delighted that Look East’s production team are working hard to assess what practical steps they can take to make a real difference. We’ll be assessing the impact of Monday’s broadcast to see what lessons can be learned across the whole organisation.”
Image: Science Correspondent Richard Westcott, who used an electric bike to travel to report from Swaffham Prior.