BBC Boss Tim Davie Makes Climate Content Plea

EXCLUSIVE: BBC Director General Tim Davie will get on the front foot when it comes to sustainability and climate change this week and urge the industry to put content speaking to these issues front and center. Speaking at the Climate Creatives event this Wednesday, Davie will say that focusing on content that addresses sustainability and climate change is a “huge opportunity.”

Deadline has obtained a sneak peek of a video address Davie will give at the fourth edition of Climate Creatives, a cross-industry event organized by the BBC that gathers commissioners, production staff and storytellers to examine how the industry can come together to find sustainability solutions.

“Surely now we’re at a point where sustainability, the agenda around nature, must be there, front and center,” Davie will say. “This is a real moment for us to do that.”

Producers and commissioners are increasingly tuning into how to create climate-related content that sits outside of the docs and current affairs space, whether that be in entertainment or drama or kids programming.

“The audience is very interested in this topic and we as public service broadcasters have a huge creative opportunity, it’s not just a corporate initiative,” Davie will say. “That is the priority for next year, to bring it alive even more in programming beyond the obvious strands. That really excites me.”

The industry effort is two-fold; it encompasses reducing carbon footprints as well as on-screen messaging. Davie will speak at Climate Creatives in his capacity as BBC DG but will call on the whole industry to get behind a push to start sustainability conversations.

“We have got a voice,” he will say, referencing the indie community and TV sector as a whole. “I would love to see this topic at the heart of more discussion.” Sounding an industry-wide sustainability klaxon, he will add: “What really sets this industry apart is how we can communicate and how we can rewire our programming so that we have a positive impact.”

Climate Creatives will be hosted from Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow and London with a live stream open to all. Other BBC notables speaking include Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore and presenter and naturalist Chris Packham. There will be also be commissioners from the Beeb, as well as their counterparts from ITV, Channel 4 and UKTV. Other speakers include wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin and I, Daniel Blake producer Rebecca O’Brien.

Film and TV are increasingly part of the conversation around climate change and how to engage people. There were several film and TV activations at the recent Climate Week in New York. In the UK, events such as Climate Creatives and the the Edinburgh TV Festival’s Ignite are tacking the topic.