Greener Sets, Stronger Stories: Janette De Villiers on Sustainable Advertising Production
Advertising production and sustainability often seem at odds, but for Janette De Villiers, founder of Groundglass, it’s a mission worth pursuing.
From reducing on-set footprints to advocating for meaningful environmental storytelling, De Villiers takes a holistic approach that challenges greenwashing norms.
She speaks with LBB’s Olivia Atkins to discuss what practical steps her team has implemented, the influence of South Africa’s natural landscape and regulations, and her vision for an industry that prioritises sustainability without compromising on creativity.
LBB> What are some specific sustainable practices you’re embedding onto your production sets, and what inspired these changes?
Janette> Sustainability on set can often feel like an oxymoron, particularly when dealing with the new ‘green set’ companies that offer services to come and manage recycling and offer sustainable solutions on set. To be a more sustainable set, the truth is we need to reduce the number of people, vehicles and gear on set. It’s the only way to really reduce our footprint.
The whole green conversation is much larger than just reducing CO2 emissions and using less fuel…. It’s often more costly on the planet to find alternatives to our normal supplies, therefore we don’t see a one size fits all solution here. We approach our sustainability programme from a very organic vantage point and look at the job at hand to assess where and how we can be more responsible as humans and reduce the impact of the job.
In South Africa, we have really strong governing bodies and organisations that look after our fauna and flora, so engaging with the local government on policy for sensitive locations is key, and sticking to local by-laws is imperative for us as an industry to set good examples.
There is so much greenwashing happening so we need to be careful not to buy into the bullshit around sustainability. Planting trees is much more effective than trying to get less clients to fly across the world for a shoot. It’s a good place to start!
LBB> Why is sustainability in advertising production so important to your company, and how easy is it to create accountability around the process?
Janette> Advertising could play a far larger role than it currently does. Instead of counting our carbon use, we should be telling stories about how to tread lighter on the planet. We are supposed to be some of the best storytellers in the world. I wish someone like YDA or Straight 8 would run a film competition that is only about positive messaging around sustainability.
It’s far easier for people to create healthy habits around waste in their everyday life than it is to try and change a large business or working environment, and we teach people how to be less wasteful, it’s amazing how quickly they implement that change. Our colleagues are exemplary of this – and have felt much more accountable and aware of their green footprint.
We all have a conscience and are responsible for our impact on nature. Just talking about how we’re trying to tackle it is one thing, nobody wants to be a dick when it comes to waste.
Over the last 10 years in South Africa, we’ve experienced massive drought – which made us very aware of water waste – and then our loadshedding, where our government oversold power from SA to other countries – leaving us with hours of darkness during the day. We’ve had to very quickly learn how to use less power and water!
LBB> What successes and tangible results have you seen so far with sustainable initiatives on-set? Are there any notable achievements?
Janette> It’s hard to make a massive difference on set because film sets are so indulgent, but the small things do matter. No plastic is the biggest one and people notice it immediately. Talk constantly about nature and our beautiful landscapes, it’s not hard when you live and work somewhere like here.
LBB> Sustainability efforts often come with additional costs – how do you balance these expenses with production budgets, and are clients willing to invest in these greener practices?
Janette> Nothing sustainable should cost you more. If you’re working on reducing your footprint, you should feel a reduction in cost.
The biggest way to save your green footprint would be for us and our clients not to travel, but that’s unrealistic especially with clients needing to be on set. We have to approach it from a more practical perspective. It’s about education, by creating awareness and keeping the conversation moving forward.
LBB> How are governmental or industry regulations influencing sustainable production practices locally, and what impact has this had on your approach?
Janette> In SA, we have a very strict parks board and Cape Nature who really do fly the flag high for protecting our nature.
We are mandated to have an ECO on most of our sets, if they are on beaches or on natural locations. (I do argue with them sometimes that this adds an unnecessary person and vehicle to the production but their role is important). We engage with various organisations and are constantly looking at how we can improve our sustainability practices as an industry.
LBB> Considering the challenges, what more do you think needs to be done for advertising production in your country to truly embrace sustainable practices?
Janette> We need to make films about how humans can lighten their carbon footprint. If we all contributed to this messaging every year, so many more people would understand about their carbon footprint and we would reach a much greater audience than just our industry.
LBB> Given the complex nature of sustainable production, do you believe advertising can ever be fully sustainable? Are you personally hopeful for the future of green production in this industry?
Janette> No, it’s an oxymoron. A sustainable industry is one where we are not selling things to people.
LBB> Can you give me some examples of easily applicable practices that can make projects more sustainable, without additional budget?
Janette> We actively do our best to only have the people and vehicles we really need on set. We no longer print anything, other than the absolute must haves like a shooting schedule. And we do not allow any plastic bottles on set, instead we supply water coolers for people to fill their own water bottles. We have recycling bins – that’s a no brainer for us – and something that we have moved way past at this point, thank goodness.
We donate all our set props to our NGO in Lavender Hill, Cape Town and make sure they get distributed to a needy community. We encourage all our clients to support our inner city garden project, something that was started during COVID to get homeless people off the streets and is a very successful local initiative that rehouses people in Cape Town and provides them with farm work outside the city, supplying organic fruit and vegetables to local restaurants and food kitchens.
We also ask our clients to plant trees and include a link around how they can donate to Greenpop, which is a fantastic local tree planting initiative that arrange educational environmental events about how to reduce the impact of damaging nature.
We encourage our teams to be cognisant of their suppliers and to encourage minimal plastic packaging…. We’re constantly implementing the ‘Each one teach one’ philosophy, pointing out where and how each department can become more green.
LBB> What local technologies -- in your opinion -- are game changers in green production?
Janette> The Jackery! They are tiny little car battery units that can power up a whole department. They’re rechargeable, silent and mean any department can be anywhere and still draw power – even a hairdryer can run off them. We all got used to using them during loadshedding and its how half of Africa powers its homes in rural areas – they work like a dream and are ideal for having less cars and people around set.
