Nature Positive Film Statement

According to the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership;

‘There is a new, powerful global consensus that “our world must not only become net zero, but also nature-positive, for the benefit of both people and the planet.”  

Nature-positive is the term used to describe a world where nature – species and ecosystems – is being restored and is regenerating rather than declining.’

The UK has 13% tree coverage, the lowest in Europe. When you consider that nature provides us with everything that we need from the physical – like food, energy, and housebuilding materials, to the emotional, spiritual and often intangible factors so crucial to human life by way of support for both mental and physical health (for the past five years, GPs in Scotland have been prescribing nature for depression!), this needs to be urgently addressed.

At Planet Shine, our lives and our work are intertwined at every stage with nature. We seek to always align with nature by;

Only working with aligned partners. We wouldn’t work with brands that negatively impact nature. And we are keen to work with brands that focus on reducing consumption and production.
Never compromising nature by causing harm to, or disturbing, biodiversity.
Only filming nature as she exists; we would never use any species in film other than that which is captured naturally.
Seeking advice from ecologists and environmentalists before embarking on projects that may in any way compromise the natural environment, and not pursuing if this is the case.
Advocating for nature to always be given a value.

But as well as a ‘do no harm’ approach, we choose to let nature guide and lead us. After all, she has a perfectly functioning and balanced system when left to her own devices. So, what better mentor could there be?

We, therefore, always ask the question; what would nature say?

And in terms of action, here’s what we’re doing;

We have established a partnership with Northwoods, an incredibly progressive rewilding organisation in the Highlands.
All of our film budgets now include a line for ‘nature’ which will be allocated to regeneration projects at the above and which comes out of Planet Shine’s fee (and which can be increased by clients if they so wish.
We actively build relationships with brands that are keen to position themselves as leaders in their field in terms of regeneration i.e. brands with ambition to both grow their business and improve biodiversity.
We engage with our client’s audiences through the use of positive storytelling and messaging that, when appropriate, can have a nature or environmentally related narrative.
We are working on our Wild Lands film project about the quest to bring lynx and wolves back to Scotland
We engage in activism and lobbying; through various partners we are actively involved in campaigns and projects that will protect and restore biodiversity in the UK. For example, tackling deforestation, addressing the adverse impact of human activity, such as litter and unsustainable fishing practices, highlighting and campaigning for an end to animal exploitation, highlighting the need for land reform.
We engage our clients in the conversation around degrowth* and working with clients that specialise in ‘slow’ industry – slow fashion, food etc.
We are soon to launch a creative lobbying and film project, more to follow soon.
Finally, we have plans to launch our rural media village in Scotland in the future. This will include rewilding approximately 250 acres of land.

*”Degrowth is, first, a critique of the ecological consequences of economic growth. The faster we produce and consume goods, the more we transform and damage the environment …. If humanity is not to destroy the planet’s life support systems, the global economy should slow down. We should extract, produce and consume less, and we should do it all differently.”