5 key takeaways: What’s changing in the Next Generation Toolkit?

BAFTA Albert’s Next Generation Toolkit launches on 16 September 2026, bringing together carbon measurement, reporting, sustainable production guidance and certification in a single platform. Designed to help productions better measure, manage and reduce emissions, the Next Generation Toolkit introduces significant changes to both carbon reporting and certification workflows.

Here are five key takeaways from BAFTA Albert’s What’s Changing? video. 

The Next Generation Toolkit includes an updated carbon calculator that aligns with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and introduces revised emission factors and expanded activity categories. This aims to give productions a more complete and accurate understanding of their carbon footprint across Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

Why it matters: Better data means better decision-making, helping productions identify the areas where emissions reductions can have the greatest impact. 

One of the biggest changes is the move to self-review when finalising footprint submissions. Under the Current Toolkit, carbon footprints are reviewed through a sense-check by the BAFTA Albert team before finalisation. In the Next Generation Toolkit, productions will review and finalise their own footprint data before submission to ensure that footprint data aligns to their financial and accounting records, improving auditability.

Why it matters: This shift is designed to improve carbon reporting and help teams build confidence in managing their own sustainability data. 

The Next Generation Toolkit introduces several ways to enter carbon data. Alongside creating a footprint from scratch, users will be able to copy information from an existing production or upload data in bulk using the new Carbon Footprint Data Tracker.

Why it matters: These options should reduce administrative burden and make it easier for productions to collect and upload quality data efficiently. 

What was previously the Carbon Action Plan process has been separated into distinct planning and certification workflows. The Next Generation Toolkit introduces updated certification criteria and a weighted scoring system designed to better recognise meaningful sustainability achievements.

Why it matters: The new approach aims to put greater emphasis on actions that deliver measurable emissions reductions, helping certification become a stronger marker of sustainability leadership. 

Alongside carbon measurement and certification, the Next Generation Toolkit includes guidance and practical resources to help productions embed sustainable practices throughout the production lifecycle.

Why it matters: Sustainability is most effective when considered from the outset. These resources are intended to help teams plan, take meaningful action and build low-carbon production practices into everyday workflows. 

The Next Generation Toolkit forms part of BAFTA Albert’s wider ambition to accelerate industry-wide decarbonisation by strengthening measurement, improving data quality and recognising genuine environmental impact.

The Current Toolkit will remain available until 17 December 2026, providing a three-month transition period for productions to prepare for the change.   

For productions already using the Current Toolkit, now is the time to familiarise teams with the new workflows, explore the Carbon Footprint Data Tracker and start preparing for the Next Generation Toolkit.

If you’re unsure of which Toolkit is right for you in 2026? Find out more using our Toolkit Decision Tree.