An Introduction to Albert

08 August 11

_{Richard Smith, the BBC's Project Manager for Sustainable Productions (and the original manager of Albert) explains in his own words what Albert is.}

Albert is a carbon calculator - an online tool that works out how much a TV production affects the environment. It calculates the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere as a direct result of making the programme.

After the user answers a series of questions relating to production activities (such as studio usage and time spent in edit suites), Albert produces a series of charts showing the carbon impact of the work. The user is given the total CO2 emitted during the course of production, the amount of CO2 emitted per £100k of budget and critically, CO2 per production hour.

• The Albert carbon calculator in action (video).

What is the point of Albert?

Albert has two major aims: to help programme teams reduce the amount of CO2 produced during the making of their programmes, and to raise awareness of the environmental impact of programme-making. We hope that Albert will act as a focal point for the consideration of sustainability issues in the television industry for both colleagues and audiences.

When is Albert going live, and how do I sign up?

As of late 2011, Albert is fully functional and public. If you're interested in signing up, we suggest you email us now at albert@bafta.org and we'll guide you through what you need to do.

How much does Albert cost to use?

As it currently stands, Albert is completely free to use. Please note that the long-term funding model hasn't been finalised yet, so there's a possibility this might change after the first year - we're looking into it.

Who is Albert designed for?

Albert is designed to cater for any group that creates television programmes, from national broadcasters to tiny indies. Due to the type of data required by Albert, we expect that production managers and coordinators will be best equipped to use the tool.

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