In recent years, the Canadian audiovisual industry has begun to become aware of its environmental impact. While Europe has already implemented strict regulations such as the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), Canada is gradually moving towards a more structured framework for measuring and reducing the carbon footprint of audiovisual productions 🎬
This article takes stock of current and future sustainability obligations in the film, television, short films, advertising and corporate production sectors in Canada.
Cet article fait le point sur les obligations actuelles et futures concernant la durabilité dans le secteur du cinéma, de la télévision, des courts-métrages, de la publicité et des productions corporate au Canada.
Table des matières
Current state of regulations in Canada 🇨🇦
Unlike Europe, Canada doesn’t yet have a regulatory framework as comprehensive as the CSRD for audiovisual companies. However, several concrete initiatives are gradually taking shape at both the national and regional levels.
The Canadian federal government recently announced plans to introduce climate-related disclosure requirements for large companies — including those in the audiovisual sector. These disclosures will follow the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), a widely recognized international standard for reporting climate-related financial information.
These efforts fall within Canada’s broader climate strategy, which targets carbon neutrality by 2050. The audiovisual industry — with its high energy demands from transportation, lighting, set design, and post-production — is especially impacted by these changes.
Telefilm Canada's carbon footprint initiative 🌱
While national regulations are still taking shape, Telefilm Canada — one of the country’s main film funding bodies — has taken the lead by introducing its own environmental requirements.
Since 2023, Telefilm has required all funded productions with budgets over CAD $500,000 (excluding post-production applications) to report their carbon footprint. This marks a major step forward for the industry, pushing more producers to actively measure and document the environmental impact of their projects.
🤔 What do we think about it?
This is a meaningful step forward! Telefilm Canada’s initiative marks a key shift for the Canadian audiovisual industry, putting sustainability front and center in the production process.
To meet this requirement, productions must use carbon footprint calculators tailored to the specific needs of the audiovisual industry. These tools make it possible to accurately track and quantify emissions generated by a shoot, item by item.
One example is GreenPro, the solution developed by TheGreenShot, which streamlines on-the-ground data collection and generates carbon reports that meet regulatory standards.
The TCFD and ISSB standards, new reference frameworks ⚖️
The standards developed by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) are gradually becoming the go-to frameworks in Canada for climate-related reporting.
These guidelines require companies to disclose:
- Their governance around climate risks and opportunities
- The actual and potential impacts of climate risks on their operations
- The processes used to identify and manage those risks
- The metrics and targets they use to assess and monitor them
For Canadian audiovisual productions, this means these considerations will increasingly need to be built into project planning, production management, and communication with stakeholders.
Investor pressure for reliable ESG data 📊
Beyond regulatory requirements, investors are ramping up pressure on companies in the audiovisual sector to provide reliable, comparable ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) data.
Major Canadian investment funds — like the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board — now systematically factor ESG criteria into their decision-making. This growing trend is pushing producers and broadcasters to improve their environmental performance and share transparent data on their carbon footprint.
🤔 What do we think about it?
This is information you can’t afford to ignore. Productions that fail to take their environmental impact seriously could face shrinking access to funding in the years ahead.
How to prepare for future obligations? ⏳
With Canada’s regulatory landscape evolving, audiovisual companies have every reason to get ahead of upcoming sustainability requirements. Here are a few practical steps to take now:
- Measure the carbon footprint of each production as a standard practice
- Train teams on environmental issues and eco-production methods
- Use standardized reporting tools aligned with TCFD/ISSB frameworks
- Set clear emission reduction targets during production planning
- Track and document best practices and their outcomes
Producers who take these steps today will be in a much stronger position when stricter rules come into play.
In brief
The trend is clearly moving toward stricter sustainability requirements. Telefilm Canada’s carbon footprint reporting initiative, upcoming climate disclosure obligations aligned with TCFD/ISSB standards, and growing investor demand for reliable ESG data are all reshaping the Canadian audiovisual landscape.
Producers would be wise to get ahead of these changes by integrating carbon tracking and reduction into their workflows now. Those who do will not only be ready for future regulations — they’ll also gain a competitive edge in securing funding and strengthening their reputation with key stakeholders
Meet an expert to discover the solution
