Well, hello, everybody, and welcome to Casual Conversations. Today we've got some amazing members of our environmental working group, and today we're going to talk about some of the things that Casual is doing to become more sustainable in the long run. Um, let's start off with some intros. Darren? Yeah, hi, I'm Darren, a senior editor based in the Los Angeles office, and I've been with Casual just over three years.

My name's Megan. I'm with the Casual team in New York as a producer, and I've been with Casual just about going on two years. Hi, I'm Anna. I'm also a producer, but based in London, and I've been with Casual just under a year. Howdy, I'm Elle. I'm a senior producer in the New York office, and I've been with Casual for about two years now.

Awesome. So first thing that's top of mind for us is obviously having a sustainability policy. I think we've gotten to that point now where it's no longer an option to have a sustainability policy. With where we are in the climate crisis, every business needs to do their part to make sure that they have protocols in place to reduce their carbon emissions in the long run.

So let's start with you, Darren. What do you think is businesses responsibility today with their sustainability policy? Um, It's a little, it's a bit blurry still, but I think there's no choice but to try and figure it out. So I think companies need to start taking responsibility and understanding what they can do. It's different for each company and each industry. Um, and that's what I feel like we're starting to do here. Uh, casual's been environmentally cautious the whole time. Um, and I, I'm glad that we're starting digging, digging deeper and trying to find solutions to the problems that are facing us. 

Uh, I agree with Darren. It's a constantly evolving situation, and just always being able to stop and kind of look at your surroundings and what you're doing that negatively impacts the environment, and steps that you can take to improve those factors, whether it's cutting down on waste on set or like casual being a global office and using those global resources to cut down on travel.

Uh, yes, I think we're in a really interesting position as Megan pointed out. We are a global company, but at the same time, we're still pretty small. So we're, as you can see here, we're all pretty hands on deck and everybody can get involved within the company. It's not just up to our founder or CEO. And being global, we can look at like how different people in different offices handle these kinds of challenges.

But also how we can have advantages with that, like in Europe we use a lot of local crew, we hardly fly to shoots anymore. So yeah, so many opportunities as a global small business. 

Yeah, I don't think it's an option anymore, really, and I don't think it's even an add on. I think it really needs to be a part of a company's core idea. It needs to be embedded into their bylaws that this is, not saying that they need to be perfect, but to acknowledge how they impact the environment and how they can do better to make improvements. 

Absolutely. And you know, Casual is a small business and certainly exploring by way of this group and, you know, some of these members here that we're all talking today, but other big companies and multinational corporations have had spotty histories with their sustainability policies. I think we can all think of, you know, some of the biggest players that might be trying to do some of the right things in some sectors, but are unable to sort of really commit to those reductions in other parts of their business. So that kind of raises this interesting discussion around carbon offsets versus carbon reductions.

 

So just to kind of get our definition straight, carbon reductions is, like it says, it's Is reducing the amount of carbon that you emit as a business in whatever your operations might be, even if you own a fleet of vehicles to do deliveries, turning those into an electric or low emission fleet is a way to reduce your emissions. And offsets are doing other measures to counteract certain measures that you already are emitting. So that might be carbon capture initiatives, planting trees, or other things that are in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals to counteract the emissions that you output by way of doing business.

So I think this is a really interesting discussion. I think maybe if you asked this question 15 years ago, people would have said that offsets are just fine. I mean, it, you know, makes a, it makes a dent in reducing our overall emissions, but the science and research has changed now where offsets are fine and well and good, but they are not enough by themselves. Companies need to make reductions, um, of their actual carbon emissions in order for us to keep up with the acceleration of the climate crisis. So I think that's a really interesting balance for a lot of businesses to weigh. Um, and I guess starting with you, Darren, what's your take on that?

 

I think as a company, we should be proactive about Um, all the tools that we have. So carbon offsets being one of them, um, we should be looking into that and participating in the ones that we believe are good. So while also looking at ways to reduce our emissions on the big scale and on the small scale.

 

And I agree with that. I think like Darren said, you know, carbon offset has become more of a way for corporations to put a bandaid on the issue instead of taking really affirmative action towards the issue. So I think corporations should really be looking at ways to reduce their impact on the environment in any way possible, whether those are small steps or large steps, I think there's a lot of debate of if the smaller steps make an impact, but all those smaller steps will add up in time and any little thing that we can do to improve, we definitely should.

Um, yes, I agree with Megan and Darren. The first thing every company should look at is how they can reduce their emissions, especially in the film industry, we know we're big corporates when it comes to, um, creating carbon, so that should definitely be the first order of business. I think I wouldn't discount the offsets completely, I think what's really important is because it's such a popular thing now, it's almost like a big startup landscape where there's carbon offsets scheme sold left, right, and center. So I think it's really important to, if you're going to use it for emissions, you know, you can't reduce, like I know we have to be driving. It's just the world we're in right now, um, to shoots and things like that. So if we are going down the route of offset, it's just to look into the companies, how are they doing it? Are they pricing it at a reasonable price? Is it not just something where you pay very little and get like a big impact that's not actually real?

 

Definitely. Yeah. Definitely. Um, perhaps a big question, but why do we think that businesses are so deeply struggling to reduce their carbon emissions? Obviously, there's a lot of different places where emissions are created. Um, and there's not always like a clear framework. There's plenty of options out there, like Anna mentioned, to measure your carbon emissions, to offset them. There's really a can of worms that you open once you look into all of the different options that you have, but, um, what are your guys thoughts on that? Darren, let's start with you.

 

Oh, I feel like there are hurdles and roadblocks to getting started. And it's also the information, once you start looking, it is available, but it's not really like, I'm not sure people know where to look. So knowing where to start is sort of difficult especially as a company. As an individual is kind of difficult too, obviously you recycle and stuff like that, but as a company, that's a whole other beast. So I think people don't know where to start, which is why I'm glad to be here and kind of learning, you know, company on a company level, where do we start and what tools are there for us to use?

 

So I think some of the barriers that businesses face when they're really looking into their environmental impact is the massive learning curve that goes into it. Um, obviously we've been thinking about environmental impacts for years now, but it's come to the point where it's incredibly dire and people are looking to do even more and gaining access to that information and knowing what steps you can take and how to calculate the information that you need. Um, to move forward with it is surprisingly more difficult. So it just, it takes a lot of effort where we're so used to living in the kind of world where things are easily laid out for us. You can Google something and find the answer simply, but this requires a lot more research, but I think it's research well put forward and something that we really do need to invest in.


I guess, uh, another hurdle you face if you want to get started, have a look at how you can improve your business. It's just. Um, getting somebody to actually do it. So I think we've like put the group together and I think lots of companies must do that, like put groups together, but everybody has a job and gets busy and nobody gets involved and actually solving anything beyond like talking about it. So I think that's another hurdle to, I guess, incentivize, motivate people, uh, making it obvious why it's important for, um, employees to get involved, um, beyond the CEOs and just, um, figure out what the best way forward is, especially for small businesses.

 

Yeah, I think the, the easiest way to answer this question is to say it's hard. It's not easy. And it's not inherent when you think about it from a business perspective. You know, our profit margin, well, it's good for the environment and our profit margin is a healthy planet on the outcome of this, but it isn't something that necessarily aligns with a lot of other, you know, medium to small companies and what they're looking to gain. And so it's really on the corporation and the company and the people who are involved in it. It's on them to want to do it. But wanting to do it and then actually doing it are two different things, and I'm not saying that there are people that want to do it and then they don't, it's just it's hard.  There's a lot of information out there. It's not easy to access. We all have our jobs and then lives outside of that. And so I wish that there was an easy solution, but it is just extra work that people have to do. And that's that.

 

Yep, absolutely. Actually, let's talk about this a little bit. I think. Once you find out what you need to do and you find out the right route, great, you can spend the time to do that research. Then what? And I think that's something that we've found as well. Like our working group has been going for, um, a little while now and we've discovered a lot of learnings. The benefits of offsets versus carbon capture versus carbon reduction. The best kind of practices to actually reduce your emissions. The places that we could get certified as a business. And really weighing out the pros and cons of each of those things. But getting those things done.is tricky. And, you know, we're a small business of about a hundred people. Yes, we're global, but each of those offices is quite small. They're about 25 people tops, or on the smaller side, maybe about five to 10 people. Um, so even in a small organization, that's as nimble as we are, it's tricky to get things done. Each of us has a full time job with other responsibilities, with client commitments, we're out on shoots, we're editing, we're doing all sorts of things day in and day out. So, what's your guys advice to companies that might be of a similar size to Casual, or maybe even a bit bigger, of how to actually action the things that you might be thinking of doing?

Starting small. I think I remember actually, Sonica, I remember talking about some of this stuff, um, over the past year and a half or so. So I think starting small and expressing yourself in your office and to your direct supervisor, um, to ask for the larger conversation to happen for the company. Um, and you know, our, our C, our CEO is already very mentally conscious and was very open to the idea. Some other companies might take more pushing, but, um, yeah, I think it's just like making people feel like they can talk about whatever and, um, giving the space for that and, and then working it upwards in the company.

 

So I think helping companies get started a good way, building off what Anna said, like breaking it up. Each person has a task of things that they can look into, ways that we could improve, and really putting those solutions forward. Something that we do is hold monthly discussions about it, where we all have tasks, and we come back and we discuss what makes sense, what doesn't make sense, what other options that we could put into place. Um, ways that we can speak with our entire company about what works and what doesn't. For an example, one idea we had was cutting down on meat on set, um, easier said than done we found out once we kind of floated the idea at everyone in the company, but just kind of pitching those ideas and seeing what will really work for you. I think it's. Very beneficial.

 

Yes. I agree with Megan. I think it's really good to bring these ideas forward, chat them through anything with everybody in the company. I think it's a big thing about implementing new policies like that is just communicating them with other people. I know we work with a lot of freelancers, um, yeah, people that are not part of the company and don't know what we're about or what we're deciding to do. So I think like communicating with them and setting our goals, saying we want to be doing it this way or that way. Um, this is, yeah, this is just something we feel really strongly about. I think it's really helpful to get people on board and other people involved that we work with, as well as our clients, actually.

I think the biggest thing is to be realistic. And I don't mean that to say, don't dream big. I just mean, if your end goal is we want to be net zero, amazing, okay, well, how do you get net zero if you haven't even had a initial conversation or breakdown of what your impact is at the moment? So just starting, like, let's start small. Let's talk about our impact. We're not a bad corporation or bad people for highlighting everything that we're doing, but we need to highlight everything that we're doing in order to then make the next step. And so just breaking it up like that, I think is, it's crucial for not only casual, but also other companies like us.


Yeah, absolutely. I want to unpack that idea, um, Elle, a little bit further. I think people can feel very scared about like, uh, public backlash or they can feel like. They have to just quickly have everything together because they might be behind, maybe they haven't thought about this until today, whatever the reason might be. And I think the way that, you know, frankly, social media works these days, there's a lot of backlash for everything and anything. And I think it can. I think it's fair to say almost every company is going to be emitting some form of carbon emissions. Like, that's just the world we live in. We all drive cars that have gas. We all have heating that might be gas powered. We all need to live our lives within the infrastructure that exists. So I think a little bit of it is like just reducing the stigma. You're not evil for a bad person if you Throw your coffee cup into the trash can instead of the recycling bin if that isn't available to you. Um, but it's just about really, uh, trying to do the best that you can 90 percent of the time, 95 percent of the time. I think chasing perfection is going to be the death of any action. And I think that's true for consumers. Um, you know, as individuals, especially this group here, we're all looking for sustainable brands to buy from, trying to be conscious about the waste that we produce or the admissions that we create in our own personal lives, but I think that idea needs to be expanded to companies as well. Do as much as you can, really make a commitment to be honest about it, and I think you'll find much better traction with your consumers, with your audience, and with your internal, uh, employees and staff as well.

Then on that note, let's talk about some of the things that we're thinking about doing. Uh, Darren, let's start with you. What are some of the ideas that we've discussed that you feel excited about?

 

The big one for me is trying to, um, encourage a vegetarian or plant-based meals onset, and also in the company, uh, events that we have. Um, we've been doing that in the, in the Los Angeles office for a while, for a while now, where we usually have mostly plant-based or all plant-based. And everyone, um, everyone enjoys it and people learn some new things about plant based foods that it actually is quite good. Um, there's like a, a sort of almost stigma around that, but I think we can, we can break that. Um, but that's one of the things that we're planning on trying more of and we've started in some, on some sets. That I think is, is a important step. It's a necessary step. Um, just by eating plant based, even one meal, um, reduces the, the carbon emissions. And if you believe that consumers can drive where companies go, the more plant, people eat plant based, the more companies will provide plant based options. So it's sort of a important thing to do that so that we can push things in that direction because it's one of the biggest, biggest causes of, uh, carbon emissions.

 

Another thing we've been actively looking into, um, sometimes we have sets where we have large catering orders and a lot of food goes wasted or gets thrown away or we try to save it, but it just doesn't work out.
So looking into locations in your area that will accept those food donations, whether that be shelters or local organizations that are willing to accept those or drop them off, it's always a great way to make sure that we're wasting less on set. Um, as well as not having as much of the wasteful things that we would use, like plastic silverware, plastic coffee cups, that kind of thing, encouraging people to use reusable water bottles. That's always a small step, but beneficial.

 

A big thing we've been doing, um, it's a big thing for Casio anyway, because we are global and we're trying to make use as much as possible of our global network, um, is to just use local crews. Um, especially in Europe, we have tons of shoots and I don't know, Italy, In Spain and France and all those places that have great crew available. And we've really built, been building out a network of those people that we, we know we can rely on and we use over and over again. So to save us the travel, which is, um, also good for the clients because obviously it saves them quite a bit of money. So that's, that's one solution that is actually very client friendly. It's great for the environment, great for the client and great for us because we get to work with so many different people around the world.

 

I think on top of our big ticket items in terms of, you know, trying to reduce our CO2 emissions, um, et cetera, I'm really excited about the use of our platform in terms of discussion, obviously this roundtable being one of them, but at the end of the day, we're not, I mean, I can't speak for everybody, but I'm personally not a scientist. However, we are environmentally conscious storytellers. So what can we use to our advantage? Well, Again, I'm not a scientist, but I can tell a really good story, and so if we can get these stories out there, then maybe that'll have an impact on the creator.

 

All righty. Well, thank you everybody for joining me. I think this has been a really, um, good kickoff to this discussion. There's certainly more to come from us, and certainly more to come from production as an industry as a whole, and also all businesses bear responsibility to do their part to curb the climate crisis. So, thank you to the four of you, and we'll see you next time.