That’s on top of
green-related storylines such as Beth and Kirk’s recycled wedding and
Roy’s search for a local food supplier that led him to setting up an
allotment.
Picking up the award at the V&A Museum in
London, the show’s Executive Producer Kieran Roberts said: “This is a
very special and important award, one which we are all very proud to
receive.
“Coronation Street has strived to improve the
sustainability of every element of the production from how we power our
site, to how we encourage electronic working for scripts and paperwork,
to how we minimise waste and recycle wherever possible, to how we
produce food, source costumes, and create sets. Without preaching, we also haven’t been afraid of engaging with our audience through storylines about sustainability.
“Coronation
street aims to be the first carbon literate television programme in the
world and we are training all our cast and crew in carbon literacy to
understand what it’s all about and how they can take control at work and
at home. Our sustainability work is an ongoing journey and now an
integral part of the day to day workings of the programme.”
Alan Halsall, who plays Tyrone Dobbs, told the
Observer: “As a young man growing up, environmental issues probably
weren’t that important to me. But what’s happening here has had a
knock-on effect. Now I’m taking a bit home with me. At home we’re
considering solar panels and ground-source heat pumps for a building
project we’re working on.”
David Neilson (Roy Cropper)
said: “There are people that drop litter and
people that pick litter up, and Roy would be as obsessive about picking
up as I am. I find with sustainability that
with a little bit of thought you can change things. It’s kind of
essential, isn’t it? But we don’t preach. It has to be right for the
character. Roy is naturally green.” (As apparently is David Neilson, who rides
a bicycle to the set).
Production manager Dan Jackson is particularly proud that 80% of the
production staff have now completed a carbon literacy training course
for TV professionals as
Corrie edges towards becoming the first carbon-literate production in the world.
So one day could we see solar panels on the Platts’ roof? “We’ve had
the quote,” says Jackson. “When it’s true to character on screen it’s
absolutely possible. And we’ll probably get some comedy out of it, too.
At the end of the day
Corrie’s a really fun show.”
