NES: A Nordic Environmental Standard for Audiovisual Productions
What is NES?
The Nordic Ecological Standard (NES) is a common standard for sustainable film and TV production, launched in autumn 2025. It was developed by the Nordic film institutes (The Five Nordics) in cooperation with the Nordic Film & TV Fund.
The standard is based on environmental standards for audiovisual production currently used in Germany and Austria.
The NES consists of 38 criteria for sustainable audiovisual production. Of these, 23 are mandatory criteria and the rest are recommended target requirements. A production may also choose five (5) exemptions (or “jokers”) from the mandatory criteria that can remain unmet.
The criteria are divided into six categories:
- General Requirements
- Personnel and Material Transport
- Energy Use
- Accommodation and Catering
- Use of Materials
- Biodiversity
Who is NES for?
The NES standard covers all genres and stages of audiovisual production, from development to post-production.
Anyone may use the standard freely when planning and carrying out their own production. Funders, commissioners and service providers in the audiovisual sector can join NES as member organisations.
NES is maintained and developed by a working group composed of all its member organisations and an executive board appointed by that working group. In addition to film institutes, members include public and commercial TV networks, film commissions and producers’ organisations from across the Nordic countries. Any organisation from the Nordic audiovisual industry can join the working group. In Finland, working group members include the Finnish Film Foundation, Audiovisual Producers Finland APFI and Elisa Viihde.
The collaboration is coordinated by NES project manager Patrik Axén from Sweden: patrik.axen@filminstitutet.se
Is compliance with the standard mandatory?
Each funder, commissioner or service provider that is a member of NES decides independently how to apply the standard, i.e., whether it is a mandatory funding requirement for all productions, mandatory only for some projects, or a recommended operating model.
The Nordic film institutes have agreed to introduce the standard as a mandatory requirement for projects receiving production support starting from 2026 and 2027.
The Finnish Film Foundation will launch the standard in spring 2026 as a recommended but voluntary operating model for productions receiving support. The standard will become a mandatory requirement for production support at the beginning of 2027.
How is the standard used?
A project that has received a positive funding decision completes a preliminary report in which it:
- commits to complying with the standard
- appoints a project manager (e.g. green consultant) to coordinate the environmental sustainability measures required by the standard
- selects at least 18 implementation criteria from the 23 mandatory criteria, as well as any voluntary criteria from the target requirements
- prepares a preliminary emissions calculation
Once the project is completed, the production submits a final report to the funder together with a final emissions calculation and an account of the measures taken.
What about…?
Does the standard apply to all kinds of productions?
- Yes: feature-length fiction, documentary films, short films, animated films and series, TV series and other programmes.
What if one of the criteria does not apply to the production at all?
- If the production does not involve any air travel for example, the requirement related to flights is considered fulfilled.
Does the standard only apply in the Nordic countries?
- No. It applies to the entire production from pre-production to post-production, regardless of the location.
How is compliance with the standard monitored?
- The final report is reviewed by the funder, and it may be audited.
Who covers any additional costs that the standard may cause for the production company?
- The costs are included in the production budget and financed like other expenses.
Do emissions calculations have to be done with a specific tool?
- The production company may freely choose which emissions calculator intended for audiovisual productions it wants to use, as long as the same calculator is used throughout the production.
Does NES replace the mandatory environmental plans required by the Finnish Film Foundation from applicants?
- No. Environmental plans are company-specific, while NES is project-specific.
Who can act as the production’s Green consultant/Green manager?
- There is currently no mandatory training requirement, but complying with the standard requires work, so an experienced professional with applicable training/experience is needed.
How can a production company require, for example, the use of renewable energy in rented premises or from subcontractors?
- Providers of production facilities and services will likely respond quickly to increased demand for ecological services. If meeting a requirement is impossible, one of the five “jokers” can be used (i.e., one of the five options chosen to be left outside the 18 mandatory criteria to be met).
Can the selected “jokers” be changed during production?
- Yes. The five criteria left unmet in the final report may be different from those selected in the preliminary plan.
What if meeting a requirment is impossible due to the shooting location, availability, etc.?
- In that case, one of the “jokers” can be used, or an acceptable explanation of the situation can be provided in the final report.
For more information contact:
Kaisa Astikainen
Environmental Coordinator
• administration of the Nordic Ecological Standard – NES
• sustainability projects
+358 44 902 6480