The Sustainable Production Forum
The Sustainable Production Forum is an annual global hybrid conference with the mission to connect people and stories, spark ideas, and advance sustainable practices.
In 2016, Zena Harris, President of Green Spark Group, asked a simple question: how do we get industry leaders together to make real progress on sustainability? The Sustainable Production Forum was born from that question, a place for leaders and advocates in the motion picture industry to connect and share sustainability stories, launched with early support from Creative BC and the Vancouver International Film Festival. In 2019, SPF struck out on its own, hosting a two-day forum at Emily Carr University — drawing more speakers, more partners, and forward-thinking ideas to spur action on sustainability.
2020 and 2021 became pivot years, as SPF expanded to reach new audiences internationally, part of a global push to decarbonize the arts and entertainment sector that continues to accelerate today. It was in 2021 that Melanie Windle joined Green Spark Group as Lead Producer of the Sustainable Production Forum. Under her leadership, the Forum expanded across Canada and onto the global stage, growing from a regional gathering into a cross-border movement.
In March 2023, Zena and Melanie co-founded the Sustainable Entertainment Society, a permanent, mission-aligned non-profit home for the Forum, built to facilitate grassroots training programs across Canada. Green Spark Group, which founded and sustained SPF since 2016, became SES's Foundational Partner.
Today, SES is a Canadian non-profit with a mission to accelerate sustainable development through culture, arts, and entertainment. Our reach spans: Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, Halifax, St. John's, Los Angeles, and New York, and online, with over 1,000 speakers, 500+ sessions and workshops, 300+ young people launched into the green creative economy, and more than 25,000 participants carrying the work forward.
That is the ripple effect, not a single wave, but thousands of them, spreading outward in every direction.
Join Zena on stage at the Sustainable Production Forum with Yasmin Glanville, a senior results-oriented, growth, innovation, leadership, and communication strategist. Yasmin has over 35 years of executive and consulting experience with major business organizations, communities, NFPs, foundations, government, NGOs, and startups in a broad range of industries. Zena and Yasmin define and discuss what makes a good leader, who can lead, the importance of creating a culture of collaboration, and more!
GUEST SPEAKER:
Yasmin Glanville | CEO & Chief Strategy Officer of CTR Inc. and Founder of Rethink Sustainability Initiatives
MODERATOR:
Zena Harris | Founder & President of Green Spark Group