Sustainability

Tree silhouette against green Northern Lights

The West Midlands has an opportunity to lead the way in sustainability. We aim to make the West Midlands the UK's first sustainable production ecosystem, where creators and suppliers can deliver original content sustainably.

This is both a challenge and an opportunity for growth. Let's use sustainability as a content source and showcase how we can address the climate crisis creatively. This will raise the profile of the sector and educate people about sustainability.

We’ll work with Sustainability West Midlands to develop a roadmap to support the region in becoming the UK’s leading testbed centre for sustainability in the creative sector, particularly in production.
— Create Central Board Member Mark Hughes-Webb

NEW Sustainability Award

Create Central is partnering with Royal Television Society Midlands to lead the way as the first region to introduce a dedicated ‘Sustainability Award’, launching in 2025, driving forward our mission to make the West Midlands the home of UK sustainable content creation in 2030…

Electric fleet vehicle

Why in the West Midlands?

  • Education and innovation - The West Midlands' sustainability strengths stem from our top educational institutions and low-carbon transport infrastructure. Partnering with universities to develop sustainable practices for creative production, educate practitioners through bootcamps, and prioritise inclusivity.

  • Infrastructure - The region's testbed includes EVs, trams, cargo bikes, and charging infrastructure, and we leverage local, sustainable innovations for a hyperlocal supply chain, reducing carbon footprint and boosting production spend.

Aerial view of Dudley

What we’ve done so far

  • Innovate:Create - A Create Central project powered by Innovation Engin3 – created a series of competitions for SMEs in the West Midlands creative content sector working closely with the low-carbon sector. Big brands like National Express and Uber issued a series of challenges that offered specific opportunities for local companies to participate in a competitive process to win a mix of mentoring and grant support to develop an idea into an audience-facing project or R&D pilot.

Aerial view of Dudley Castle

Three priority actions

  1. We will ask the industry what they need from Create Central regarding sustainability and review current resources.

  2. Based on the consultation, we'll create a sustainability charter for cross-sector adoption, starting with Create Central members and expanding to all industry companies.

  3. We will develop a roadmap to support the West Midlands in becoming the UK's leading testbed centre for sustainability in the creative sector, particularly in production.

Find out about our other missions

  • IP Content Fund

    IP Content Fund

    Future funding for the West Midlands to help develop ideas. READ MORE…

  • Monetising Content

    Monetising Content

    Making it easier to sell creative content. READ MORE…

  • Future Media

    Future Media

    Making the West Midlands the future of content creation. READ MORE…

  • Games Sector

    Games Sector

    Finding new ways to support the West Midlands games sector. READ MORE…