Recorded live at Pacific Northwest Climate Week, Zena Harris is joined by climate influence strategist Andrea Learned, host of Name & Fame, for a conversation on where film and TV production and city government actually overlap, and where they're missing each other entirely.

They dig into why sustainability has to start in development, not production the "tacking it on" problem most productions still default to and lay out the specific ways cities can become better partners to film crews: sharing power infrastructure data, coordinating on parking and base camp electrification, and building financial incentives like Seattle's film-permit discount for productions that ditch a diesel generator. Real numbers included: a 150-person, 15-week production crew saved over $10,000 just by switching from plastic water bottles to reusable ones, and thousands more by cutting beef at catering.

The conversation closes with a practical call to action for film students, city staff, and anyone in production — on where to start small and how public praise (cheerleading productions that get it right, on social media) becomes its own form of climate influence.

Topics: sustainable film production, entertainment industry sustainability, city-film partnerships, film permits, base camp electrification, production carbon footprint, climate influence, plant-based catering, Green Spark Group, Sustainable Production Forum, Seattle sustainability, PNW Climate Week.

🔗 Learn more about Andrea Learned:

🌐 andrealearned.com

🌳https://linktr.ee/AndreaLearned

📸 Instagram @Andrea_ClimateInfluence

💼 linkedin.com/in/andrealearned/

🎙️ Name & Fame with Andrea Learned: https://open.spotify.com/show/3YkKdutaROrB5hSehWVaDo

🎙️ Connect with our hosts:

Zena Harris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zenaharris/ Mark Rabin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabinmark/

👉 SUBSCRIBE for more sustainability and clean energy content from inside the entertainment industry!

#SustainableProduction #FilmIndustry #ClimateWeek #PNWClimateWeek #CityPlanning #FilmPermits #GreenProduction #ClimateAction #Sustainability #ClimateInfluence #SeattleSustainability #FilmProduction #TVProduction #EntertainmentIndustry #GreenFilm #CarbonFootprint #SustainableCities #ClimateSolutions #BaseCampPower #TheTieIn

What does climate storytelling actually look like when it's done right? Not a green campaign or a lecture, but a reusable water bottle sitting on a table in a Scandinavian film. A farmer's daughter in a Hindi love story casually explaining why pesticides ruin the soil.

In this Best Of excerpt, sustainable design strategist Simran Monga breaks down the difference between climate storytelling and climate communication, why implicit moments beat explicit "message" scenes, and why doomsday narratives are losing ground to solution-based ones. She also walks through the Climate Action Toolkit for Change. The tool she built from a year of interviews with writers, directors, and producers across India, Hollywood, and the UK, plus 210 survey responses from Indian audiences, is designed to help writers' rooms fold climate action into scripts without ever rewriting their process.

Perfect for writers, producers, and anyone curious how entertainment can shift climate behavior without saying the word "sustainability" out loud.

🌱 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

— The difference between climate storytelling and climate communication

— How to show renewable energy on screen without turning it into a PSA

— Why ""The Ladies,"" a Hindi love story, is a masterclass in implicit climate narrative

— Why doomsday storytelling is losing to solution-based storytelling

— How the Climate Action Toolkit for Change works — 5 issue cards, 100 action cards

— What Simran learned interviewing 14 writers/directors across India, Hollywood & the UK, plus 210 Indian audience members

This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode. Listen/watch the full episode!

🎥 YouTube: https://youtu.be/-2fH-CtnzzY?si=O2LWRyACeBxWw6Nk

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s1-e14-enabling-sustainable-stories-with-designer/id1753867919?i=1000670512604

🟢 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Gb5uXs9z0G2Vfn5WUw7VN?si=xdi9we2KT3Ky_kj4Pcm1Ew

🌱 Connect with Simran:

🌐:http://hiecodesignlab.com

📸: @thehiecolady @reelin_change @hiecoliving

💼: www.linkedin.com/in/simran-monga-70025890

🎬: @hiecoliving8679

🎙️ Connect with your hosts:

Zena Harris on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/zenaharris

Mark Rabin on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rabinmark

👉 SUBSCRIBE for more sustainability and clean energy content from inside the entertainment industry.

#ClimateStorytelling #SustainableDesign #Bollywood #IndianCinema #SustainableEntertainment #GreenFilmmaking #ClimateAction #ScreenwritingTips #WritersRoom #FilmIndustry #TheTieIn #BestOf #HopefulStorytelling #EntertainmentSustainability

🎬 TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Welcome to the Best Of

00:06 Climate storytelling vs. climate communication

01:34 How writers can imbibe sustainable behaviors into characters

02:14 Showing renewable energy on screen — solar panel examples

03:26 ""The Ladies"" — implicit climate narrative in a Hindi love story

04:46 The Tom Cruise wind turbine bit & the Scandinavian water bottle scene

05:34 Reflecting real lifestyles on screen

06:09 Why doomsday narratives are losing to solution-based storytelling

06:59 Building the Climate Action Toolkit for Change

08:21 What's inside the toolkit — issue cards & action cards

09:39 How writers actually use it in the room

11:15 The research — interviews across India, Hollywood & the UK

11:45 The survey stat: 70% worried, 14% know what to do

12:19 Outro & credits

In this Best Of excerpt, Alex and Allison, co-chairs of IATSE Local 600's Sustainability Committee, break down how the camera department is tackling waste before it becomes waste — from a year-round e-waste drop-off in Chicago to a free camera-expendables exchange with EcoSet in Los Angeles. They also share the story behind One Tree Planted, the committee's tradition of planting a tree for every year of life of union members who've passed away — roughly 3,000 trees a year. This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode.

🌱 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

— How a volunteer committee grew into a five-city national network

— Why the committee's focus shifted from recycling to reduction

— How EcoSet keeps camera expendables out of the landfill and gets them free to film students and indie filmmakers

— What it took to turn a union office into a year-round e-waste drop-off

— The story behind One Tree Planted and why the committee plants in honor of members who've passed

— How partnerships with Everyday Action LA and the Labor Network for Sustainability connect camera work to climate action

This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode. Listen/watch the full episode!

YouTube: https://youtu.be/qajDOOxNtQQ

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3T3ssRqVK8KiuicbftOSHC?si=NSw7nK1IQuGpvcONrZmdXg

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s2-e3-focusing-all-film-departments-on-waste-reduction/id1753867919?i=1000684829515

🌱 Connect with Alex & Allison and the Local 600 Sustainability Committee:

📸 @life_according_to_allison

📸 @accoyle

📸 @600sustainability

🎙️ Connect with your hosts:

Zena Harris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zenaharris/

Mark Rabin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabinmark/

👉 SUBSCRIBE for more sustainability and clean energy content from inside the entertainment industry.

#Local600 #IATSE #Sustainability #EWaste #CircularEconomy #FilmProduction #GreenProduction #CameraDepartment #OneTreePlanted #SustainableEntertainment #TheTieIn

🎬 TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro & welcome

1:10 How the Local 600 Sustainability Committee started

2:06 Going regional — five cities, one mission

2:57 Building a year-round e-waste program

3:54 The EcoSet partnership — free camera expendables for film students

5:25 Why "reduce" beats "recycle"

6:32 Trade show panels & tailoring the message city by city

7:43 Earth Day: tree planting, river cleanups & an adopted highway

9:07 Connecting camera work to climate change

9:54 Partnering with Everyday Action LA

10:51 One Tree Planted: honoring members who've passed

12:17 Credits