Planet Nutshell Sustainability Policy

Last updated: 6/10/2025

Introduction
At Planet Nutshell, we recognize our responsibility to reduce our environmental impact and operate sustainably, especially given the fact that we serve many environmental nonprofits. As a 100% remote animation and film studio, we are uniquely positioned to adopt low-carbon workflows while continuously seeking ways to improve our practices across all aspects of our operations.

Our Commitment
We are committed to environmental stewardship through the following goals:

• • Minimizing carbon emissions

• • Reducing digital and material waste

• • Making responsible technology and vendor choices

• • Educating our team and clients on sustainable practices

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1. Remote Work & Carbon Reduction

• • Our fully remote structure eliminates commuting and reduces emissions associated with office energy consumption.

• • With very few exceptions, all client and team meetings are held virtually to avoid unnecessary travel.

• • When travel is required for on-site production, we aim to:
    
    • • Combine trips to minimize transportation impact
    • • Choose eco-friendly lodging and transportation options
    • • Offset air travel-related carbon emissions via verified carbon offset programs

2. Energy Use & Equipment

• • We encourage the use of energy-efficient hardware and settings (e.g., enabling power-saving modes, turning off unused devices).

• • Our team uses shared NAS systems and cloud storage to avoid redundant equipment and data duplication.

• • Our Apple Macintosh workstations are powered by ARM (aka Apple Silicon) processors that provide the highest performance per watt of any competing computing solutions.

3. Digital Waste & Storage Management

• • We minimize unnecessary data storage by routinely archiving and cleaning up project files.

• • Redundant backups are managed responsibly, with retention policies in place to reduce server load and energy use.

• • We responsibly dispose of computer hardware via donation or sustainable local recycling programs

4. Sustainable Production Practices

• • We use digital assets (illustrations, 3D models, effects) to reduce material waste in physical production. Our cloud-based production process means that we transfer no physical media via shipping or other means of transportation.

• • When outsourcing or collaborating with other studios, we prioritize partners with sustainable business practices. For example, our live action production team prioritizes the use of hybrid or electric vehicles when traveling to local shoots.

• • For voice recordings, we work with remote talent to reduce travel and shipping of physical media.

5. Communication & Education

• • We promote sustainability awareness within our team and integrate it into onboarding and periodic updates.

• • We educate clients about environmentally responsible choices in production, such as using digital distribution instead of DVDs or print materials.

6. Vendor & Partner Responsibility

• • We assess vendors and service providers based on their environmental practices.

• • We seek partnerships with organizations that share our commitment to sustainability.

7. Continuous Improvement

• • We will review and revise this policy annually to incorporate evolving best practices.

• • Team members are encouraged to propose new ideas and solutions to improve sustainability.