Liverpool TV and film studio behind BBC This City is Ours earns BAFTA win

The new accolade makes The Depot one of the leading net-zero studios of its kind in the country in delivering its carbon-cutting commitments.

Owned by Liverpool City Council and managed by the Film Office, The Depot first opened its doors in 2021 and features two 20,000 ft² units of purpose-built stages for use by high-end TV and film productions.

Paramount+ became the first major long-term tenants of The Depot as they filmed television series Sexy Beast over a period of seven months, and the studio has since welcomed major productions such as Channel 4’s The Gathering and BBC hit crime series This City is Ours.

A total of 31 studios participated in this round of the BAFTA Albert Studio Sustainability Standard where The Depot was awarded a rating of ‘Very Good’ with a score of 80% – compared to an average score of 77%.

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Areas in which the studio excelled were 100% LED studio lighting, providing the service of renewable generators, the sustainability policy, as well as access to green biodiverse space. Suggestions for improvements include installing EV charging ports, looking at the feasibility of renewable energy generation and increasing the recycling rate.

Launched in 2022, the BAFTA Albert Studio Sustainability Standard is the world’s first sustainability assessment designed to help measure and reduce the environmental impact of film and TV studios by focusing on six key areas: Climate, Circularity, Nature, People, Management and Data.

Each studio submits data annually under the areas highlighted to then receive a performance report as well as a grade so that benchmarking work can be done to continue to make improvements and compare other studios across the world.

Head of Liverpool Film Office, Lynn Saunders, said: “We’re thrilled to receive the rating of ‘Very Good’ and so proud that we’ve achieved this award in the first time in entering.

“We’re dedicated to building on the success of filming in the Liverpool City Region by creating a sustainable screen eco system, bettering not only our skills programme but the way we work with productions when they come to our region to film.

“By having this award, we will be able to track our progress and continue to make meaningful improvements to The Depot to better the environment for generations to come.”