Ecoprod Label FAQ
The FAQ section provides answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Ecoprod label.
Understanding the Ecoprod Label
The Ecoprod Label stands out thanks to several guarantees of reliability, based on scientific and operational principles.
The Ecoprod Label is supported by ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, and is audited by AFNOR Certification, an accredited independent third-party body, to ensure a rigorous assessment of applications.
A large-scale study initiated by Ecoprod and carried out in collaboration with a consortium of universities and research laboratories has enabled the measurement of the impacts of eco-production strategies, based on certified production. The Ecoprod Label has proven its effectiveness by enabling a significant reduction in GHG emissions (up to 41% across the four highest-emitting categories) for certified productions. In 2025, Ecoprod published a report based on usage statistics for its tools in 2024, demonstrating that the label is suitable for all types of projects (involving live-action filming).
Greenwashing is considered a misleading commercial practice. Various resources are available to help avoid it: the ISO 14021 standard, the third edition of the “Sustainable Development Recommendation” from the Advertising Regulatory Authority (ARPP), and ADEME’s Anti-Greenwashing Guide (2025 edition).
Any fraudulent practices aimed at promoting the brand image of a production process or product by portraying it as more environmentally friendly or more ecologically responsible than it actually is are considered to constitute greenwashing. Any misuse of the Ecoprod Label may therefore fall within the category of greenwashing. In this regard, the Ecoprod Label Communication and Brand Usage Guide is available on our website.
The Ecoprod Board of Directors reserves the right to exclude from the Labelling Scheme any audiovisual work exhibiting the following characteristics:
- Promotion of climate-sceptical views: audiovisual works that uncritically endorse climate-sceptical or climate-denialist views.
- Glorification of ecocidal acts and activities: audiovisual works that glorify ecocidal acts, activities and actions, or the deliberate mistreatment of animals.
- Production involving the deliberate degradation of natural environments: audiovisual works that have deliberately caused the destruction or degradation of natural environments at any stage of their production (development, production, post-production).
- Cases of greenwashing: audiovisual works that have been sanctioned by the competent authorities (ARPP and ARCOM) for instances of greenwashing or climate scepticism.
The Ecoprod Label is a green-production framework composed of a weighted grid of eco-criteria and indicators defining the components of an environmentally responsible production. Using this framework makes it possible to assign a green-production score to all types of live-action audiovisual and film productions: feature films, series, documentaries, commercials and corporate content, TV entertainment formats, short films, etc.
The Ecoprod Label framework is available on the Ecoprod website, as well as in the “Ecoprod Label” section of the Carbon’Clap carbon calculator. If your green-production score exceeds 65%, you can start the certification process with AFNOR Certification.
Animated productions are excluded from the scope of the Ecoprod Label due to their specific typology and production workflows. AI-generated content is also excluded from Ecoprod certification (as it is not created through live-action production).
To obtain the Ecoprod Label, productions must achieve a green-production score of at least 65% (70% for the Label with an Commitment phase) and validate all applicable mandatory criteria.
To certify their environmentally responsible approach, productions must apply to AFNOR Certification, which has been appointed to conduct Ecoprod Label audits. It is strongly recommended to contact AFNOR Certification well in advance of the project’s production phase (around 2 months beforehand) in order to plan the audit schedule. This will also help you anticipate the actions to be implemented and retain supporting documentation for these actions.
Once the audit process has been completed and the green-production approach has been certified, productions may communicate their final score according to three certification levels:
- 65% to 75% = Initiated Label: 1 star
- 76% to 87% = Confirmed Label: 2 stars
- 88% to 100% = Exemplary Label: 3 stars
New to green-production? Visit the “Where to Start?” page on our website.
Each validated criterion of the Ecoprod Label allows productions to accumulate points and determine the green-production score of an audiovisual work.
The weighting of the criteria is based on the measurable results of the actions implemented, particularly their environmental impact.
The green-production score serves a dual purpose: as an educational self-assessment tool and as a rigorous certification system audited by AFNOR Certification.
AFNOR Certification, a leading organisation for audits and certification in France and internationally, is the independent third-party body appointed by Ecoprod to audit the Ecoprod Label.
AFNOR Certification is responsible for:
- Contracting with Ecoprod Label applicants;
- Organising and managing audits;
- Issuing certification attestations;
- Implementing updates to the Label.
AFNOR Certification guarantees compliance with:
- Impartiality (equal treatment of applicants);
- Non-discrimination (accessibility for all relevant stakeholders);
- Confidentiality;
- Management of internal and external personnel;
- Full independence between the Label deployment process, Label applicants, and stakeholders within the audiovisual industry.
Apply for the Ecoprod Label on AFNOR Certification’s website.
Two frameworks currently coexist in France to support green-production practices in the audiovisual sector: the Ecoprod Label and the AFNOR SPEC 2308 – Responsible Film, Audiovisual and Advertising Production, developed by the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée and the French Ministry of Culture, with Ecoprod playing a key role in its development.
AFNOR SPEC 2308 aims to provide guidelines and practical recommendations to production companies for the creation of live-action film, audiovisual, and advertising works in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The document establishes a methodology structured around three levels of commitment, each of which must be validated in order to progress to the next level. It is organised into 7 environmental themes, including 28 criteria distributed across these 3 commitment levels. The audit process for the CNC’s RSE+ Bonus is based on AFNOR SPEC 2308.
The Ecoprod Label supports audiovisual professionals by helping them mobilise their teams and structure their green-production approach. The framework brings together 85 criteria, including 7 mandatory criteria, organised into 12 areas of action and following the chronology of a production, from preparation through to post-production. Some criteria may be deemed non-applicable depending on the type of project.
To date, the Ecoprod Label is the only French label dedicated to audiovisual green-production that is certified by an independent third-party organisation, AFNOR Certification.
It was created by Ecoprod in 2023 in consultation with industry professionals. It is supported by a broad sector-wide study conducted by the IRCAV, the LIED, Sorbonne Nouvelle University, Université Paris Cité, ESG Clermont, and CleRMA. It is also supported and validated by ADEME.
At the beginning of 2025, the Ecoprod Label was updated and enhanced based on feedback from its users. This new version revised the framework in order to align a shared set of criteria between the two frameworks: the Ecoprod Label and AFNOR SPEC 2308. The Ecoprod Label is also consistent with the most demanding international audiovisual green-production labels.
The Ecoprod Label framework, along with numerous Ecoprod resources and tools, is available free of charge on our website. These tools are intended for all audiovisual professionals wishing to implement environmentally responsible practices in their productions.
However, obtaining the Ecoprod Label requires an audit process. Audit fees, which vary depending on the project’s shooting duration, are available on the website of AFNOR Certification.
It is not necessary to be a member in order to apply for the Label.
Members may take part in meetings and consultation processes contributing to the development and evolution of our tools. The use of our resources is open to all professionals.
The certification process should ideally be initiated upstream of production, starting from the preparation phase. This will allow you to better anticipate the actions to be implemented, broaden the range of criteria you can meet, and retain the supporting documents needed to demonstrate your actions.
AFNOR Certification recommends applying at least 2 months before the start of filming in order to ensure optimal processing of your application, particularly if an on-site audit is required. When submitting your application, you will be able to establish the certification timeline together with AFNOR Certification.
No. Only AFNOR Certification is authorised to conduct official audits as part of the Ecoprod Label process.
The Ecoprod Label framework allows for self-assessment, but this does not replace the certification audit.
The Ecoprod Label does not apply to companies. The Label only applies to a specific project (film, series, commercial, etc.) and certifies that it has been produced in an environmentally responsible way.
The Ecoprod Label is designed to structure the green-production approach throughout the entire production lifecycle of an audiovisual work, from scriptwriting through to the delivery of the final masters. If your company wishes to certify several works, it may apply for a grouped contract with AFNOR Certification.
The Applicant is the natural or legal person (production company, agency, etc.) submitting the certification application to AFNOR Certification. The contractual relationship relating to the certification application is therefore established between the Applicant and AFNOR Certification, on behalf of Ecoprod.
The Ecoprod Label can be used for productions filmed abroad.
In the case of international co-productions, an Ecoprod Label Excel framework must be submitted to AFNOR Certification by the co-producer for each secondary country, in addition to the framework for the main country. A secondary country is defined as any country other than the main one in which more than 25% of the production’s shooting days take place. All Ecoprod Label criteria apply to every country involved.
Once the Label has been awarded to a work, it remains permanently associated with that work, with no expiration period.
However, Ecoprod’s Board of Directors reserves the right to withdraw certification from any audiovisual work that promotes climate-sceptic narratives, glorifies ecocidal practices or activities, has deliberately damaged natural environments, or has been sanctioned for greenwashing by the competent authorities, namely the Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de la Publicité and the Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique. For more information, please refer to the Ecoprod Label Brand Usage and Communication Guidelines.
How the Ecoprod Label works
A Label is a mark or logo applied to a product, service, or sector in order to guarantee its origin, quality, or compliance with specific standards.
Certification is the process through which a Label is awarded, and its value depends on both the relevance of its specifications framework and the associated verification system.
The framework of a Label is a document defining the criteria, standards, and requirements that a product, service, or organisation must meet in order to obtain and retain the Label.
It serves as a guide for the design, production, and assessment of labelled products or services. It also serves as the basis for audits and may be updated to reflect developments in the sector. The Ecoprod Label framework is available on the Ecoprod website, as well as in the “Ecoprod Label” section of the Carbon’Clap carbon calculator.
A framework grid is a structured tool, often presented in table form, that organises the elements of a framework in a logical way. It allows competencies to be assessed according to levels of performance and clarifies evaluation criteria.
It is essential for organising and effectively using the information contained in the framework, particularly for assessment purposes.
The Ecoprod Label framework grid is available in two formats: Excel (available for free download on the Ecoprod website) and within the Carbon’Clap carbon calculator.
The framework grid brings together 85 criteria organised into 12 categories, following the production timeline of an audiovisual work, from the beginning of production through to post-production (delivery of the final masters).
7 criteria are mandatory, 8 criteria are counted as bonuses, and 2 criteria may result in penalties, related to air travel.
The criteria are weighted according to their relative importance in terms of associated environmental impacts, and each criterion is assigned a score ranging from 1 to 5 points.
To obtain the Ecoprod Label, a production must validate all applicable mandatory criteria for its project and achieve a score equal to or higher than 65% of the total possible score on which it is assessed (70% for certification with a Commitment Phase).
Seven Ecoprod Label criteria are mandatory, as they are considered inseparable from a production that can be qualified as green-produced: development of a roadmap, appointment of a person responsible for green-production, calculation of the project’s carbon footprint, prohibition of the use of jets or helicopters, development of a waste management plan, significant reduction of single-use individual containers, and provision of a vegetarian meal option (criteria A1.1, A2, A6, H3.4, I1, I6, and I7).
Productions that do not validate these criteria will not be eligible to apply for certification with AFNOR Certification.
Bonus criteria reward two types of commitments:
- Training certain department heads in green-production,
- Implementing social actions (inclusion, gender balance, quality of working life, and anti-discrimination measures).
If these criteria are met, the corresponding points are awarded; if not, these points are simply not included in the total score applicable to your project. Therefore, failing to validate these criteria does not affect your green-production score.
You may answer “N/A” (not applicable) for certain criteria in the Ecoprod Label framework grid when the required action simply does not apply to your production. For example: the absence of sets or costumes in a documentary.
The conditions under which a criterion is considered non-applicable are specified, for the relevant criteria, in the explanatory notes of the Ecoprod Label Excel framework grid (Sheet 3, column E).
Air travel is penalised in the Ecoprod Label framework due to its high environmental impact. The number of flights taken is therefore taken into account in the calculation of penalty points. Since version 2.1 of the Ecoprod Label (17/11/2025), a new variable has been included in the penalty calculation for long-running formats and series emissions: the total duration of episodes or programmes in minutes.
The addition of this second variable makes the calculation more precise and fair. For longer productions, a single flight generates proportionally fewer penalties than for shorter productions, while still ensuring a consistent level of penalisation for long productions that use air travel. This system therefore introduces a degressive penalty, better reflecting the relative weight of a flight in productions of very different durations.
The detailed penalty calculation rules are as follows:
Short and medium-haul flights:
- Less than 1350 minutes: each one-way trip deducts 0.15 points;
- Between 1350 and 9000 minutes: the penalty is degressive, each one-way trip deducts (202.5 ÷ duration in minutes) points;
- More than 9000 minutes: each one-way trip deducts 0.0225 points.
Long-haul flights:
- Less than 1350 minutes: each one-way trip deducts 0.4 points;
- Between 1350 and 9000 minutes: the penalty is degressive, each one-way trip deducts (540 ÷ duration in minutes) points;
- More than 9000 minutes: each one-way trip deducts 0.06 points.
Two criteria in the Ecoprod Label framework grid are screening questions and do not award any points: E4 (filming in natural environments) and L3 (measuring the gender parity rate of teams). They do not require any specific action to be implemented, but a positive answer to these criteria automatically triggers the applicability of the corresponding sub-criteria.
Using the Ecoprod Label framework
The Ecoprod Label can be used in several ways:
- Productions can carry out a self-assessment and obtain a green-production score (green-production score) based on the framework. The goal is to build a production strategy.
- Commissioning organisations can internally verify production documentation to validate their green-production score. The goal is to build a group-wide strategy.
- The obtained green-production scores and associated supporting documents may be verified by AFNOR Certification, which issues the Ecoprod Label. The goal is to strengthen the credibility of the strategy.
The Commitment Label is not a certification in itself. It is an intermediate step that allows an ongoing approach to be recognised before obtaining the Performance Label.
The Commitment Label responds to the need to communicate about a green-production approach upstream of Performance certification:
- in the case of ongoing productions (TV series, live studio shows, etc.);
- for the purpose of obtaining financial support subject to eco-conditionality clauses (funding typically granted before production begins).
The Performance Label is awarded at the end of post-production of a work and allows, in particular, to:
- certify audiovisual works according to several performance levels (from 1 to 3 stars depending on the score achieved), in order to highlight the most ambitious green-production strategies and approaches;
- identify the environmental action categories and areas in which works are most effective;
- serve as a benchmark for “ongoing” productions seeking to improve their environmental impact.
The Ecoprod Label certification with a Commitment Phase is an optional preliminary step, distinct from the Ecoprod Performance Label (the final Label). The threshold for obtaining the Commitment Label is 70%. This helps strengthen the credibility of applications awarded this preliminary Label.
The framework is available on two platforms: Excel, or directly online via Carbon’Clap.
The framework grid is provided as an Excel document composed of 5 sheets:
- User guide: practical information for getting started with the file;
- General information: enter details related to your project;
- Ecoprod Label framework: respond to the criteria you commit to by selecting YES, NO, or N/A from the dropdown menu (column C);
- Ecoprod Label supporting documents: comment on your approach and indicate the names of supporting documents (columns E and F);
- AFNOR SPEC 2308: review your level of alignment with AFNOR SPEC 2308 (informational sheet, not part of the Ecoprod certification scope).
The Excel file can be downloaded directly from the Ecoprod website. It can be shared via a drive, but it is recommended to work on it locally on your computer rather than directly on a drive, in order to avoid the risk of corrupting calculation formulas.
The framework grid is also accessible in Carbon’Clap, under the “Label” tab:
You can respond to the criteria using the interactive interface and then download your report as an Excel file identical to the one available on the Ecoprod website (this Excel file can then be submitted to AFNOR Certification as part of your Ecoprod Label audit).
You should also enter the project’s general information (title, production company, shooting dates, etc.) in the “Configurator” tab of Carbon’Clap; this information will be transferred to sheet 2 of your report (Excel file).
All criteria (whether related to catering or waste management, for example) must be validated across the entire production, and not only during the shooting phase.
The supporting documents to be submitted to AFNOR Certification are detailed in the “4-Ecoprod Label supporting documents” sheet of the framework grid (Excel), criterion by criterion. You may submit those that are most appropriate to your approach.
Supporting documents for mandatory criteria, as well as those relating to air travel (or the absence of air travel), are highlighted in red and must be provided without exception.
Communication
At the end of the certification process, you receive a certificate corresponding to the level of certification achieved, as well as the associated logos (1, 2, or 3 stars).
You may communicate about your approach in accordance with the Ecoprod Label Brand Communication and Usage Guidelines, which you agree to comply with when entering into a contract with AFNOR Certification.
Each new certification is announced in our newsletters and published on the Ecoprod website (publications that we encourage you to share!).
Ecoprod encourages you to include the logo in your project’s credits. Before the certification process is completed, it is possible to request from Ecoprod the logo corresponding to the score achieved in order to integrate it into the credits, provided that the intermediate audit report has already been completed by your auditor.
Please send the interim report to Ecoprod ([email protected]) and request access to the corresponding logo; make sure to copy the auditor in charge of your application in the email. Please note: this provision is solely intended to allow you to include the logo in the credits. You may only communicate publicly about your approach once you have received the certification attestation.
Programmes produced and broadcast on an ongoing and recurring basis (e.g. news programmes, series, TV shows, etc.) may continue to use the Ecoprod Label logo previously obtained for the edition currently in production.
This principle applies provided, in particular, that the current edition is effectively engaged in a certification process through a contractual agreement with AFNOR Certification, and that the display of the logo is accompanied by a disclaimer stating that the logo was obtained for the previous edition.
A possible disclaimer could be:
“[Name of the work currently in production] is engaged in a green-production approach with the Ecoprod Label. The score obtained for [Name of the work previously certified] was xx stars.”
The conditions governing this specific case are detailed in the Ecoprod Label Brand Communication and Usage Guidelines, which you agree to comply with when entering into a contract with AFNOR Certification.
