As a cultural institution, the Zurich Film Festival supports the climate target of the city of Zurich ‘net-zero 2040’ with conviction. We are committed to reducing and avoiding CO2 emissions and to using the influential platform of cinema to promote awareness and dialogue for a more sustainable future. The belief in the transformative power of film is rooted in the ZFF’s DNA. This form of art sheds light on relevant topics, evokes emotion, and can therefore create impulses for positive change. We want to use this platform to promote both ecological and social sustainability.
Ecological Sustainability
The Zurich Film Festival is climate neutral. Since 2010 the ZFF compensates the flights of its guests, which was illustrated that year by rolling out a green instead of the traditional red carpet. Originally planned as a one-off event, this green carpet is now one of the ZFF's trademarks.
The greenhouse gas emissions generated by the festival in the last couple of years have been fully compensated - a step in the right direction. In order to reduce the stress on the environment future and to avoid or reduce emissions, innovations are evaluated routinely. Developing a long-term sustainability concept, we stand in constant exchange with other cultural institutions. Thanks to our high profile, we are setting an example for the industry.
Do we have a good eco-balance? How do we score in comparison? Many questions we cannot yet answer. Due to the lack of reference values of other festivals and similar events, situating ourselves in the cultural landscape by means of the eco-balance is difficult. It is also known that life cycle assessments should be treated with caution, since some evaluations are only estimations and have not yet been standardized. However, they offer an important point of reference for taking measures, which we can focus on. IThanks to the collaboration with carbon-connect, however, we can state the following:
The travels to and fro by visitors and the invited guests cause the most emissions and make up about three quarters of the CO2 footprint. The flights account for a significant part of these emissions.
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The majority of CO2 emissions are not created directly at the festival, but in the processes before and after (scope 3 emissions). Therefore, we have taken multiple measures to optimize our working space and processes. These include for example optimizing the energy efficiency of devices used as well as the increase in reusable materials/ products.
- Compensation of emissions
All greenhouse gas emissions the Film Festival has created in the last three years have been calculated by carbon-connect AG and have completely been fully compensated through climate protection projects.
- Ecofriendly transport
All European guests are advised to travel using public transport – Juliette Binoche for example mad her journey by TGV instead of a plane. The number of guests invited from overseas has been reduced. As an alternative, we offer Q&A sessions with guests on Zoom, for example. Whenever it is not possible to travel in Zurich using public transportation, we transport our guests using electrical vehicles. The e-fleet is the best choice considering safety, time crunch and protection of the environment.
- Regional and seasonal catering
Our catering partners believe in using seasonal products and working together with local partners and providers. At ZFF events, we only use multi-use tableware. We also always offer vegetarian menus for crew catering.
- Sustainable infrastructure and production
Screenings and similar events for clients and partner take place in already existing venues with fixed infrastructure. Only the festival centre is set up temporarily. In the year of the 20th anniversary, we take a further step towards climate neutrality by constructing a new festival centre which consists of modular, reusable elements made out of Swiss wood. The concept of the new festival centre allows for eight years of use and will be implemented in collaboration with local companies. Moreover, we try to work together with local companies wherever possible, and we are constantly reducing the use of print materials. This includes the measure to stop printing programme as of 2024.
An important pillar of our cultural mission is allowing networks to form between Swiss filmmakers and international names in the industry. In order to fulfil this mission, we promote direct exchange with important decision makers through our varied Industry programme. This way, we open doors for new projects and professional development. We are thrilled to let the general public participate in the film industry and to allow them to meet stars from all over the world via the public appearances of our guests on the green carpet. Furthermore, the ZFF is in close contact with other festivals such as the San Sebastián Film Festival or the Filmfest Hamburg and actively seeks opportunities to combine travels of guests.
In 2010, the ZFF started a journey towards sustainability by compensating the flights of its guests. To draw attention to this positive change, the traditionally red carpet was replaced by a green one. The green colour and the festival’s commitment to work towards a sustainable future of the festival remain to this day.
The majority of visitors come to the ZFF by public transport (2023: 72.5 %). In comparison to the year 2021, this percentage has seen significant increase (2021: 67 %). percentage of people travelling by car has decreased to 10.7 % (2021: 14%). 16.7 % come to the festival by bike or walking (2023). By posting an official call to action to use public transport, we promote greater awareness among our audience and move sustainable development forward.
To further encourage the use of public transport, we collaborate with RailAway to offer supersaver tickets for over 130 Swiss train connections to Zurich during the entirety of the festival. When choosing our locations for client events, we make sure that the transfer between event location and cinema is possible to do by foot. This is why our festival centre at the Sechseläutenplatz is so important. With a few exceptions, all venues are within walking distance from here. Thanks to the train, tram and bus stops around the Sechseläutenplatz (Stadelhofen, Opernhaus, Bellevue), connections with public transport are also guaranteed. We refrain from actively making travelling by car more difficult so as not to disadvantage or exclude groups of people who are dependent on a car.
Social sustainability
We are organizing a festival that is open to everyone. Anyone interested should be able to enjoy a barrier-free and safe experience. From the broad field of social sustainability, we are currently focussing on the areas of inclusion, participation and diversity. We are promoting these topics both at visitor level and in our programme.
All cinemas and event locations as well as the festival centre are barrier-free. There are persons on site at all times who can offer support and assistance in many matters. We provide various contact options (verbal/written/in person). In addition to simplified online sales, we also offer physical points of sale to provide support for people who rely on assistance when buying tickets. Our price structure also includes discounts for students and AHV/IV recipients. Free spots are available at the year-round children's workshops for children whose families cannot afford participation.
As part of our commitment to social sustainability, our film programme is carefully curated to present a wide range of perspectives and voices from around the world. Each year, our programme includes productions from numerous countries, many of them from regions with low production capacity. In recent years, the proportion of film productions directed by women has increased to 40% (2022) (male: 56%, non-binary/other: 4%).
