The first day of the conference started with an opening address from Phil Clapp, the Chief Executive of the UK Cinema Association, followed by a box office update by Nena Loncar from Comscore.
This was followed by "Public Attitudes and Understanding," which featured a presentation on Sustainability 101 by Dee Davison from Deluxe Media and Entertainment, followed by Ruth Hinton from Vue International on sustainability and its impact on audiences.
The conference continued with a panel discussion on screen advertising, moderated by Stephen Woodford from the Advertising Association, featuring Steve Davis from Digital Cinema Media, Rosie Kitson from Mindshare, and Clare Turner from Pearl and Dean.
After lunch, the conference moved to"Retail - Packaging and Recycling/Plastics," which began with a spotlight session on the deposit return scheme for the UK and Ireland, presented by Louise Wright from Britvic. UNIC CEO, Laura Houlgatte, took part in a panel discussion on the UNIC Circular Economy Group, moderated by Nick Gault from Coca-Cola Company and featuring Martin Waller from ODEON Cinemas Group, and Isla Stilley from ODEON Cinemas Group.
The final theme of the day was "Technology and Energy Saving," including a panel discussion on laser. The panel was moderated by Simon Tandy from Omnex Pro Film and featured Mark Kendall from Sharp NEC Displays, Phil Lord from Christie Digital Systems, Oliver Pasch from Cinionic, and Claire Vaughan from Chapter Arts, Cardiff. The day concluded with a spotlight on sourcing sustainable energy by Simon Alsbury from Energise.
The second day began with a welcome address from James Connor, Senior Policy Manager at the UK Cinema Association, followed by an industry address from Natasha Padbury from Depot, Lewes.
The first theme of the day was "Cinema Build and Design," which started with a spotlight session on the "Arts Green Book - Sustainable Buildings," presented by Lisa Burger and Paddy Dillon from Renew Culture. The day then continued with a panel discussion on designing a low-carbon, modular cinema, moderated by Stefanie Fischer from InventaCinema and featuring Cllr. Fabian Breckels from Bristol City Council, Olly Meek from Rio, Dalston, Jane Shepherd from Ferco Seating, and Craig White from Agile Homes and Properties.
This was followed by "Industry Approaches," which began with a spotlight session presented by Bob Gordon of the Zero Carbon Forum. The second spotlight of the day was presented by Neal Romanek, Director of Communications and Events at albert and their role in uniting the screen industries to make a positive environmental impact. This was followed by a panel discussion on sustainability from the distributor's perspective, moderated by Tanya Easterman from Daiku and featuring Stuart Henderson from Studiocanal, Geraldine Moloney from the Film Distributors' Association, and Neal Romanek from albert. Patrick Hort from Mammoth then presented “Mammoth - a climate action cinema”
The conference came to a close with a final panel on “Bringing it all together - Exhibitor strategies.” The panel was moderated by James Connor and featured Flick Beckett from Picturehouse Cinemas, Mike Flint from Vue International, Hannah Dean from Olympic Studios London and Carol Rennie from Keswick Alhambra Cinema. The conference ended with closing remarks from Phil Clapp.
A huge thanks to the entire UKCA team for a great event and we’re already looking forward to the next one!