After a 2-year effort, the animation ecosystem is now invited to give feedback on proposed standards for animation film with a 3 May deadline.

ANiMPACT is an international initiative led by CineRegio, Ecoprod and Green Film that aims to support the animation industry in accelerating environmental transition by establishing an internationally recognised framework for sustainable production in animation. Following the publication of the Green Animation Guide in 2025, the proposed ANiMPACT sustainability standards for animation were presented at Cartoon Movie in March 2026 and are now in a public consultation phase until 3 May (CLICK HERE). The aim is to gather feedback from across the animation ecosystem on the clarity, feasibility and relevance of the standards before the final version will be presented at Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June.

Charlotte Appelgren from CineRegio has been involved in the process from the outset, and highlights the value of having specific standards for animation film, but also how it has taken longer to develop these than in live-action fiction.

“Animation has been able to fly under the radar for a long time,” says Appelgren, and stresses how this is partly because it has been less obvious to identify the environmental footprint in this field. “In live-action, you see trucks, sets and travel, while in animation, the impact is largely hidden in energy use, data, and digital workflows. This makes it more complex to map and standardise. With ANiMPACT, we finally have the focus and the tools to address that seriously.”

Balancing ambition and practicality

An important reason for having joint standards for animation is the fact that most animation productions are highly international. Accordingly, the ambition has been to develop standards that work across borders, based on a close collaboration with numerous industry partners and film funding agencies.

“In these matters, it’s always a challenge to find the right balance between ambition and practicality. We want real impact, but the standards also need to work for both large studios and smaller independent production companies. We’ve been very focused on usability – if the standards don’t work in real productions, they won’t make a difference,” says Appelgren. She has appreciated the strong engagement in the Nordics from regional film funds like Arktisk Film Norge, Midtnorsk filmsenter, and other stakeholders who were among the first to sign the Statement for European Sustainability Standards in Animation that initiated the process and now has more than 100 supporters.

Digital as well as analogue impacts

Assistant Professor in Film Studies and animation and sustainability expert Maike Reinerth welcomes ANiMPACT’s focus on the unique characteristics of animation projects:

“While environmentally conscious production guidelines exist for live-action films in several European countries or regions, the unique characteristics of animation projects have not received sufficient attention until now. Emphasising digital workflows and energy consumption is particularly timely, given the growing role of AI in film production.”

While the digital perspectives are crucial, Reinerth stresses that it is, however, also important to ensure that the specific needs of analogue animation are not overlooked.

“The practices unique to analogue animation, such as the use of physical material in set-building and puppetry, also require tailored considerations to fully address their environmental impact.”

Standards for live-action and/or animation

From the Nordic perspective, Project Manager for the Nordic Ecological Standard (NES) Patrik Axén agrees that previous sustainability frameworks have mainly focused on the production aspects with an emphasis on live-action (rather than animation or post-production), but highlights that existing sustainability frameworks like the German Ecological Standard and the NES have been developed to work for both live-action and animation (as well as for other genres such as news, sports, scripted, and non-scripted production).

”Since GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions generally stem from the same sources, regardless of whether a production is live-action or animation, and since the actions required to reduce environmental impact are largely the same, joint frameworks seem to work well. This is especially true in the Nordics, where the national energy mixes are comparatively green to begin with. Even in a Nordic animation project, the main sources of GHG emission are therefore likely to be travel and transport.”

While there are many similarities, Axén does find that a dedicated animation standard can be more precise even if “the difference between a combined standard (for both live-action and animation) and a specific animation standard are likely limited”.

Alignment across markets for co-production set-ups

With the ongoing implementation of NES, there is now a joint sustainability focus and framework in the Nordics. However, Appelgren emphasises that industry experience from across European markets illustrates the importance of having aligned standards for co-production, since animation projects are typically financed across multiple territories:

“In the Nordic context, where public funding for animation remains comparatively limited, producers frequently rely on pan-European financing to complete their projects. From this perspective, continued collaboration on shared or compatible standards – whether within existing frameworks or through initiatives such as ANiMPACT – is key to ensuring smooth cross-border production and strengthening the Nordic animation sector internationally.”

Axén finds that all kinds of sustainability initiatives are welcome, and believes that the work behind ANiMPACT will also help strengthen the NES. He would like to also see the Nordic animation sector provide feedback on the NES, since continuous evaluation and real-world use will allow future versions of the NES to better incorporate aspects important to the animation sector. According to him, discussions with the Nordic Animation Association have been productive regarding how the NES works for animation, and he has written a short appendix to guide animation producers in applying the Nordic standards.

Looking for pilot projects

When working with ANiMPACT, Appelgren has appreciated how the Nordic stakeholders involved have been very willing to test and move things forward rather than mostly engage in discussions.

“I think the initiative definitely has a Nordic approach…it’s quite pragmatic. It’s about what works in practice, and about the idea that sustainability shouldn’t sit on the side – it should be integrated into how we fund and evaluate projects.”

Following the consultation stage, Appelgren hopes that Nordic stakeholders will now also be interested in testing the final standards on their productions and share their experiences. One production has already signed up as pilot project.

According to Reinerth, this continuous collaboration with industry partners is crucial for standards like these to have real impact, as is the specific focus on animation.

“The ANiMPACT initiative directly engages the animation community, which has not been explicitly addressed by existing sustainability guidelines. This inclusivity fosters awareness, and hopefully encourages proactive participation in sustainable practices.”

Link to take part in the ANiMPACT public consultation, and submit feedback: CLICK HERE.

Link to NFTVF’s NES page: CLICK HERE.