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AOP Green Award

Encouraging environmental good practice across the photographic & image-making industry

© Todd Antony 

Featured image from 2025 AOP Green Award Winner – Locate Productions, finisterre case study

The AOP Green Award has been launched to recognise actions already taken to address environmental impacts within the industry by and for professional photographers and image makers.

“By nominating an individual, a project or an organisation to the AOP Sustainability Awards, we are not just celebrating our peers but recognising the image-makers who are actively shaping a carbon-conscious future. As members of the AOP we should strive to inspire industry-wide action and reinforce the vital message that sustainability must be integral to the creative process, and what better way to do that than spotlighting those leading the change.”

JC Candanedo, AOP Accredited Photographer & member AOP Sustainabillty Working Group

Sponsored By:

MPB logo

WINNER ANNOUNCED

CONGRATULATIONS TO

2025 AOP GREEN Award Winner – Locate Productions

Image: Left to Right: Alex Hill –  Locate Productions, Eshaan Akbar, Isabelle Doran – AOP, 
Amanda Jenkins – Locate Productions, Angus Light – Locate Productions, Rachel Rogers – Locate Productions
 

2025 AOP Green Award – Sponsored by MPB
Encouraging environmental good practice across the photographic & image-making industry

Congratulations to Locate Productions, winners of the inaugural AOP Green Award 2025
Project Title: Regenerative Production: Embedding Sustainability Across Our Workflow

Their inspiring submission included several comprehensive case studies:

The Agency for Nature – Season Two:
The Agency for Nature Season Two campaign wasn’t just about storytelling, it redefined how production can drive meaningful change while delivering bold, culturally relevant
work on limited budgets. As the main production partner working across five top UK agencies, Locate Productions enabled fast, low-carbon, high- impact campaigns that
reached over 16.7 million people, with outputs spanning TVC, social, OOH, experiential and a live activation. By embedding agility, shared resources, and sustainability at every stage, we
demonstrated that creative excellence and effectiveness can go hand in hand.
With Season3 in development, this model continues to scale – showing how purpose-led production can engage new audiences, influence industry norms and deliver measurable,
lasting impact.

Finisterre – Cold Water Surfing:
Multi-content, multi-shoot campaigns for Finisterre, built on agile collaboration, fostering local creative relationships while reducing carbon impact. Finisterre needed more than just a campaign, it needed an ethos-driven production approach, shaped by shared values; telling real stories with real people while reducing our carbon impact.

Locate Productions – Sustainability Journey video

AOP Green Award 2025

The AOP Green Award aims to:

  • To recognise and celebrate achievements in environmental good/best practice across our industry.
  • To demonstrate that environmental good/best practice can embedded across all scales of organisation ranging from individual photographers to larger studios, and agencies.
  • To encourage environmental good/best practice across our industry.

 

Eligibility

  • This Award can be entered by an individual, a team or an organisation.
  • Able to enter directly or for those reticent about putting themselves forward, can be nominated* by another party.

    *(Any entry nominees will be contacted in advance of the deadline in order to confirm their nomination and complete the entry process.)

What the judges will be looking for:

Judges should be able to recognise the overall environmental benefits of your project/initiative.  Does your submission demonstrate any/all of the following:
  • Measurable achievements e.g. CO2 reduction, fewer miles travelled, waste diverted from landfill/incineration, improved shoot production, etc.
  • Ability to influence others – bonus points if you can show that others have taken their own steps following your initiative or professional practice.
  • Implementation – have any new process been adopted or technologies installed
  • Innovation: How creative you’ve been to implement any changes and/or overcome any problem areas
  • Economic Benefit: Have you saved money through your initiative or professional practice
  • Future plans: How do you plan to move forward?

Entry Process:

  • To enter yourself (individual, team or organisation), you must complete the online entry form (link below) and submit a statement (up to 1000 words maximum) that explains a specific environmental initiative or professional practice that you have undertaken that aligns with the AOP Green Award aims.
  • For nominations, see further down the page for details.
  • You will have the opportunity to attach any relevant case studies or supporting documentation related to your work that show / demonstrate your environmental practices.
  • Entries will be reviewed by our judges and winners announced live at the 40th AOP Photography Awards on 9 October 2025

For individuals, teams & organisations entering yourselves:

Entries Open: 12 May 2025

Entries Close: 14 July 2025

Terms and Conditions of Entry
Entries are now closed
This is an online entry form. 

For Nominations: See details below

Entry Fees 
(All prices include VAT @20%)

Entry Period – 12 May 2025 – 14 July 2025

Individual – £30.00

Team – £40.00

Organisation – £60.00

50% of all entry fees will be donated to the Wildlife Trusts.

Upon submitting your entry you will be invoiced. Your entry will not be considered complete until this is paid.

NOMINATIONS

The opportunity exists to nominate an Individual, Team or Organisation for this award.

We will notify them of their nomination and nominees will be notified and then invited to enter.

Nominees will have to complete the entry form in full before the final entry deadline.

There is no fee charged for nominations/nominees

Nominations Close: 4 July (Slightly earlier to allow for contacting nominees / completion of submission).

Contacting nominees: The AOP will be in contact with all nominees after the closing date, please email the AOP if you have not been contacted after 14 July 2025. 

Nominations are now closed
Terms and Conditions of Entry

Launching in 2025, this Award is for an Individual, Team or Organisation demonstrating:
a commitment to improving environmental practice within the
photographic / image-making industry

Judged by

Carol Sharp

AOP Accredited Photographer & Chair AOP Sustainability Working Group

Lisa Merrick-Lawless

Co-founder of Purpose Disruptors

Lameya Chaudhury

Lucky Generals

About AOP Sustainability Working Group

The AOP Sustainability Working Group is tasked with demystifying sustainability within photography and short-form moving image production and providing clear strategies for all professional image-makers to use in the urgent pursuit of a net-zero carbon future.

Our aim is to provide advice and information on the business case for photographers and producers to be developing low carbon or carbon-free ways of working, along with helpful resources from practitioners and links to tools that measure greenhouse gas emissions from shoots/production, and how to use gathered data to benefit your clients and business.

This is a place to find out about carbon reduction techniques to be used within your production decisions that will help bring the industry towards the only viable option we have, which is a carbon-neutral economy.

AOP Sustainability Working Group Members are:

WG Chair and AOP Accredited Photographer, Carol Sharp

AOP Agent member and AOP non-executive director, Hat Margolies, Lucid Representation

AOP Affiliated Company member, Angus Light, Producer and Founder, Locate Productions

AOP Accredited Photographer, JC Candanedo

AOP Accredited Photographer, Kai Bastard, Bad Star Studios

AOP CEO, Isabelle Doran

AOP Membership Services Administrator, Chris Mackins

Not a member? If you would like to become an AOP Accredited or Assistant Photographer member, please click here.  

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AOP Photography Awards

The AOP Photography Awards are known as the ‘Oscars’ of the photography world. They celebrate excellence in the creative photography and image-making industry.
This is your chance to be seen by leading commissioners and names within the photographic industry.
Check out our 39th AOP Awards FINALISTS and WINNERS

More information