Sustainable Digital Training
Climate Training for Product Managers and Digital Designers for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), a ministerial department of the Government of the UK
Low-Carbon GenAI Toolkit
Making AI's carbon footprint visible for filmmakers and creators
Generative AI is reshaping how screen content is made. We built the first tool to make its environmental cost visible, so Canadian filmmakers can choose when and how to use it wisely.
Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) & DGC Green
Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is a national labour organization representing creative and production professionals across the screen industry, including directing, design, production, and editing.
Type of project
As generative AI became increasingly integrated into creative and production workflows, the DGC needed to address its growing carbon footprint. There was no existing resource for screen industry professionals to understand or act on this impact. The DGC tasked Decarbonade with designing a practical, publicly accessible toolkit, launched on Earth Day 2026, to fill that gap.
Approach
We designed and built the Low-Carbon GenAI Toolkit as a bilingual web platform with three tools: a carbon calculator that estimates the energy use and emissions of common generative AI tasks, a best-practices guide to help creators make informed choices, and a fact sheet covering the key numbers on GenAI's environmental impact. We built the calculator ourselves for this project. Anyone in the guild can use the toolkit, whatever their technical background.
Results
The toolkit is the first of its kind in the screen industry. It launched publicly on Earth Day 2026, and drew immediate press coverage across Canadian film and broadcast media. It positions DGC Green as a leader in sustainable AI adoption, giving the screen industry a practical lever to reduce emissions from AI-assisted production.
"Given the rapid growth of generative AI in the audiovisual sector, we have observed a lack of practical tools and data to help industry professionals better understand, measure, and reduce its environmental footprint.
Decarbonade’s expertise and the quality of our collaboration enabled us to transform complex technical challenges into accessible resources for the industry.
We particularly appreciated the collaboration throughout the various stages of the project, which led to a rigorous final result.
The Toolkit on Low-Carbon Generative AI now represents an important first step in raising awareness among creators and encouraging the adoption of more responsible individual practices in the use of generative AI."
Year: 2026
Credits:
Strategy & UX design: François Burra
Content: François Burra
Model creation (calculator): François Burra
Web design: Nicolas Paries (Hey Low)
Infography: Nicolas Paries (Hey Low)
Web development: Frederic Houle
Copywriting: Abigail Blake
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OUR WORK