Good practice:

Public financial support for the film industry's ecological transition

The CNC is the public body which regulates and supports the film industry in France. With an annual budget of 700 million euros, it runs approximately 150 funds. Among them, a selective subsidy, “le Soutien financier aux industries techniques”, finances companies which contribute to the quality of French film and video games creation through their technical services or equipments.
Funding is project-based and must allow the company to stay competitive and innovate through investments in new technologies or equipments. To that aim, a commission of independent experts and professionals decides if the CNC should finance a given percentage of the eligible spendings (studies, investments, training, human resources, communication etc.) necessary to the project.
The applicants are for instance post-production companies willing to improve their production pipeline, films studios which would like to invest in a cyclorama or a light provider in search of new innovative lights to rent to film crews.

In 2014, the CNC decided to add to the existing eligible spendings two green investments in order to encourage companies to become more ecological in the way they work or the products or services they offer. Environmental audits and environmental investments are now financed up to an attractive rate (40-70%) as long as the commission agrees the investment is efficient and useful to reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment.

1 person in charge of running the fund + 1 assistant
1 independent environmental expert to review the applications and write a recommendation for the commission
1 commission of 13 independent experts and professionals
The fund’s total budget in 2017 (including environmental projects) : 4,8M€

Since 2014, 250K€ were granted to 15 green projects : 13 green investments, including or not 5 environmental studies. 1M€ had been requested in 44 applications (selection rate : 34%).
Example : Audiovisual supplier Norimage Films’ post-production mobile unit is more eco-friendly (picture). It integrates renewable energy to be self-sufficient on outdoor locations. Moreover, as post-production is made on set, there is no need to transport rushes to the post-production office anymore.

Assessing the environmental efficiency of the project and its innovative aspect (solution: an environmental expert gives out a detailed opinion on the project)
Following up on the funded projects and their impact & publishing successful case studies (requires extra time and human resources)

Any public body in the EU can integrate such criteria in their existing financial support or create one. Thanks to the General Block Exemption Regulation, the state aid does not need to ask the commission for approval (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014R0651-20170710) as long as it follows some rules and complies with the SME definition (https://publications.europa.eu/fr/publication-detail/-/publication/79c0ce87-f4dc-11e6-8a35-01aa75ed71a1/language-en).