European animation studios are now able to formally measure and certify their environmental performance with the launch of ANiMPACT, a new continent-wide program providing a much-needed green certification for the industry. This initiative, which began its pilot phase in June 2025, aims to standardize sustainable production practices across Europe, closing a significant gap where the live-action film sector has long had established eco-friendly benchmarks and incentives.
For years, animation, despite its substantial presence in the global entertainment landscape, lacked a unified system to assess its ecological footprint. While live-action productions benefited from various national and regional programs like Green Film in Italy, the UK’s Albert certification, and Ecoprod’s Carbon Clap calculator in France, animated features and series had no comparable framework. This disparity not only hindered studios from demonstrating their commitment to sustainability but also often excluded them from financial incentives tied to environmentally responsible filmmaking.
The Genesis of a Unified Standard
The impetus for ANiMPACT arose from a growing awareness within the animation community that it was being "left behind from every talk, every discussion, every tool," according to Luca Ferrario, who leads the Trentino Film Commission and was instrumental in developing both Green Film and ANiMPACT. Animation producers voiced frustration over their inability to prove sustainable behavior, thus missing out on crucial public funding tied to eco-friendly practices.
This sentiment crystallized in 2024 when Ferrario’s team and Ecoprod, a French nonprofit dedicated to sustainable filmmaking since 2009, independently recognized they were tackling the same problem. Rather than developing separate, potentially conflicting systems, as had occurred with live-action certifications across Italy, France, and Germany, the organizations decided to collaborate from the outset. This strategic partnership, which also brought in CineRegio, a network of 53 regional film funds across Europe, aimed to create a single, harmonized European standard for green certification in animation.
The collaborative effort culminated in the official launch of the ANiMPACT pilot program on June 25, 2025, at the prestigious international animation film festival in Annecy, France. This launch followed two years of intensive development and a public feedback period that engaged over 100 organizations from 18 countries, underscoring the widespread demand and collaborative spirit behind the initiative.
Measuring the Unseen: Animation’s Environmental Footprint
Defining and measuring animation’s environmental impact proved more complex than for live-action productions, primarily due to the unique characteristics of the animation workflow. Unlike live-action shoots, which often concentrate a production crew in one or a few locations, animation projects are frequently fragmented across multiple studios, countries, and external vendors. This geographical dispersion makes tracking resource consumption and emissions significantly more challenging.
Furthermore, animation features typically have much longer production timelines, often spanning several years. This extended duration complicates the measurement of total environmental impact over the life cycle of a project. While live-action productions often generate substantial emissions from travel and on-location filming, the primary environmental cost in animation stems from digital processes.
Ferrario highlighted that electricity consumption accounts for roughly half of a typical animation production’s environmental impact. This energy powers the high-performance workstations and extensive server farms required for rendering, digital asset creation, and other computing-intensive tasks. Beyond electricity, other significant factors contributing to the carbon footprint include the lifespan and replacement cycles of computer equipment, digital data storage, and international travel for co-production meetings between geographically dispersed studios.
AI and the Future of Sustainable Animation
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across animation production — from image generation to rendering optimization and workflow automation — introduces new considerations for environmental sustainability. These AI-driven processes demand substantial computing power, further increasing electricity consumption. For now, ANiMPACT requires companies to adhere to a basic set of ethical and environmental guidelines regarding AI technology. However, Ferrario anticipates that environmental requirements will evolve and be updated as AI’s role in animation expands and its specific energy demands become clearer.
The ANiMPACT certification system itself is structured around seven key areas:
- Company Management and Social Responsibility: Evaluating overall operational sustainability.
- Office Buildings and Energy Use: Assessing facility energy efficiency and renewable energy adoption.
- Digital Workflow and Data Storage: Monitoring the energy footprint of computing and data management.
- Travel: Reducing emissions from business travel.
- Food: Promoting sustainable catering practices.
- Merchandise: Ensuring eco-friendly production of promotional materials.
- Communication about Sustainability: Encouraging transparency and advocacy.
Studios can seek certification for individual projects or for their overall company operations. Each standard is weighted based on its actual environmental impact, with some requirements being mandatory and others offering opportunities for additional "green credits." Ferrario emphasized that "the first thing to say is that we can measure the impact, and then we can reduce it, because just measuring doesn’t mean you’re reducing anything." The goal is not just assessment but actionable reduction.
Financial Incentives and Industry Buy-in
Beyond the environmental imperative, a significant driver for studios and producers to pursue green certification is financial. A growing number of public film funds, at regional, national, and European levels, are increasingly offering financial incentives to productions that can demonstrate environmental responsibility. In some cases, sustainability certification is even becoming a mandatory prerequisite for funding. This shift has already reshaped budgeting and planning in live-action film, and organizers anticipate a similar transformation within the animation sector.
A critical aspect of ANiMPACT’s credibility and effectiveness for public funding is its reliance on third-party verification. Unlike self-declared sustainability claims, a proper certification necessitates an independent auditor to review and validate a production’s environmental practices. "Many funds are asking for a certification, or are giving incentive for certification," Ferrario stated, "and the only way you can call it a proper certification is when there is a third-party verification. So it’s not us, it’s not the producer, it’s someone else, someone independent, checking and verifying. That’s very important for public funding."
The project’s backers are also positioning ANiMPACT as a solution to the fragmented and often incompatible environmental certification systems that developed organically in live-action film across different countries. By establishing a single, unified European standard from the outset, ANiMPACT aims to streamline the process for multi-country co-productions and foster greater consistency across the continent. The initiative has garnered broad support from key industry groups, including Animation Europe, Cartoon Italia, CEE Animation, Anim’France, and Cartoon, while CineRegio’s extensive network provides built-in reach across Europe.
Strong Demand and Future Outlook
The pilot phase of ANiMPACT is scheduled to run through May 2027, with organizers targeting the summer of that year for the release of finalized standards, at which point any animation production will be eligible to apply for formal certification. Even during this test period, certifications issued are considered fully legitimate, backed by the same rigorous external audits and verification processes planned for the permanent program. "Even though it is a pilot test, it’s a real certification with a real verification, auditing and everything," Ferrario confirmed, noting that it has been operational since late June.
Demand for the program has already exceeded initial expectations. In the first month following the pilot’s launch, ANiMPACT received approximately 40 requests from productions across multiple countries eager to participate. This enthusiasm is further evidenced by a public statement of support signed by more than 90 studios, producers, and other organizations. To qualify for certification under the pilot, productions must be either completed or sufficiently advanced by June 2027.
Complementing the certification program, Ecoprod and Eurimages, the European co-production support fund, have jointly launched a free online course titled "Green Animation." Hosted on the training platform StepUP, this course is designed to educate industry professionals about animation’s environmental impact and guide them in applying the new ANiMPACT standards, fostering a more environmentally conscious animation sector across Europe. The unified approach represented by ANiMPACT marks a pivotal moment for the industry, promising a more sustainable and accountable future for animated storytelling.
