Hollywood's Supporting Role at Climate Week 2024

With Climate Week NYC attracting government officials, NGOs, scientists, and business leaders from around the world, you might wonder: Why is Hollywood here? What role does the entertainment industry play in tackling climate change?

At the Sustainable Entertainment Alliance, we’re excited about the opportunity to connect with innovators and thought leaders on one of the most pressing issues of our time. The film and television industry has a unique opportunity to both reduce our own environmental impact, while engaging with the cultural narrative around climate change and sustainability. At Solutions House, we’re eager to explore how we can meet the growing audience demand for stories that reflect the realities of our changing climate, while pushing the industry toward a more sustainable future—on and off screen.

The Sustainable Entertainment Alliance, a coalition of industry stakeholders including A24, Amazon Studios, Amblin Entertainment, Disney, Fox Corporation, NBCUniversal Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. Discovery, Village Roadshow, and more, is committed to reducing the entertainment’s environmental footprint and connecting audiences with stories that engage with climate and sustainability themes. Our approach is comprehensive, focusing on decarbonization, circularity, and climate representation, while fostering collaboration across the industry. We advocate for innovative production technologies and support creators who integrate sustainability into their storytelling, all in service of meeting global climate goals and audience expectations.

We know that films and television can have a profound cultural impact, and that audiences are increasingly looking for stories that reflect the climate-altered world we live in. We've seen films and shows that are addressing environmental challenges—and showcasing a transition to a clean economy—be both creatively inspiring and commercially successful. Yet, there's still a gap between audience demand for these themes and what’s currently being produced. The Sustainable Entertainment Alliance is here to help bridge that gap, providing resources to support the industry’s response.

So why is Hollywood at Climate Week? At events like Solutions House and beyond, we’re working with others in the industry to reckon with our role in addressing climate change. Our panels and workshops will cover everything from sustainable production to studios’ interest in climate-themed content, showrunners who’ve successfully told these stories, and more. We’re here to spark conversation and collaborate on creating killer (climate) stories. We hope you’ll join us.