A s the 2020 Sustainable Production Forum (SPF) gets underway, producers are increasingly piquing to the opportunities presented by reducing the industry’s carbon footprint.

The SPF, which fosters sustainable practises in the entertainment industry, kicks off today in a virtual format, with a variety of panels and workshops geared toward creating defined solutions for a sustainable future. Launched in 2016 in Vancouver, the 4th annual forum draws attention from all areas of the screen industry from indie products to major studios.

Among the companies doubling down on reducing their carbon footprint is Vancouver-based Sim, which today (Oct. 22) unveiled new additions to its fleet of Urban Power Source (UPS) units.

A year after debuting its UPS unit – a zero-emissions energy technology designed specifically for the film and TV industry – Sim, which is a lead sponsor for the SPF and strong advocate for sustainable production, has expanded the size of its fleet to four, from two.

Sim’s upgraded models have 225 kilowatts of storage, almost double that of the 125 kilowatts of the original units, and have been developed using feedback from a number of Vancouver-shot productions.

Since last year, the UPS units have been used on Resident Alien (Universal Studios), Big Sky (20th Television in association with A+E Studios) and season two of season two of Batwoman (WarnerBros.).

Sim says the new UPS units improve on-set air quality, reduce a production’s carbon footprint and eliminate the risk of fuel spills in sensitive community and park environments. In Vancouver alone, the company estimates that traditional diesel-powered generators burn approximately six million litres of fuel annually.

In B.C., the industry has increasingly been calling for additional ways to reduce its carbon footprint. With four units now in the market, Sim’s SVP of production services, Jeff Ramsay, said the goal is to expand the fleet beyond the province to other jurisdictions both in North America and beyond.

“The whole industry is driving toward sustainability, and it’s worth it for us to be doing this,” said Ramsay.