The Green Film School Alliance publicly shared that 16 new schools have been added to its ranks, more than doubling its membership sustainability-minded schools, according to a Nov. 16 press release by The Green Film School Alliance (GFSA). The committed schools, of which GFSA have memberships that go across seven U.S. states and four countries on three continents, join the effort to lessen the environmental impacts of film production practices, according to the press release. The American Film Institute is one of the co-founding organizations of GFSA.

Due to its expansion of the alliance’s commitment to teaching sustainable production to a wider group of schools, The Green Film School Alliance (GFSA) said it is one step closer to making “Green Production” a standard practice for all filmmakers.

In addition, The Green Film School Alliance said they were pleased to acknowledge that 24 student projects from five schools (AFI, NYU, UCLA, the University of Arizona and the University of New Orleans) have earned a 2022 Environmental Media Association’s Green Seal for Students. The Seal is presented to student productions that attain a minimum of sustainable production goals named in the GFSA’s Production Environmental Actions Checklist for young filmmakers, a direct conduct to decrease waste and lower their carbon footprint, the release stated.

The AFI thesis film “Shredding Angels”, which went on to be awarded a Bronze Medal at the Student Academy Awards on October 20, was the first student film to use the GFSA’s tool and earn an EMA Green Seal for students in 2021.

Learn more about the AFI Conservatory, documented as the #1 film school in America by the Hollywood Reporter, at AFI.edu.

This story has been updated to reflect that AFI is a co-founder of The Green Film School Alliance.