The guests—Kate Humphreys (Chief Communications Officer), Edouard Minc (ESG Director), and Alma Santo (Format Manager and Banijay Green Co-Chair)—represent the rarely-aligned triangle of strategy, storytelling, and systems. Together, they reveal how one of the world’s most prolific entertainment firms is tackling ESG not as a comms challenge or compliance box, but as a cultural operating system.

“We produce 17,000 hours of content a year. That comes with serious responsibility.” — Kate Humphreys

🎬 The Real Battleground for ESG? Behind the Camera

Banijay’s influence spans over 70 countries and household names like Big Brother, Survivor, and MasterChef. But the ESG frontier, as Edouard Minc points out, doesn’t lie in splashy climate specials. It’s embedded in format bibles, carbon audits, and the design of studio kitchens.

From measuring emissions across hundreds of decentralized productions to embedding welfare guides in every format package, the company is building what Minc calls a “dual ESG strategy”: one for behind the scenes (decarbonisation, compliance, HR policies), and one for what appears on screen (storylines, casting, subtle norm-setting).

“Calculating emissions was step one. But our biggest challenge now is decarbonising how we create.” — Edouard Minc

🧠 Beyond Greenwashing: Authenticity as a System, Not a Slogan

The team’s approach to greenwashing is refreshingly clear-eyed. Rather than dodging the term, they interrogate its causes: stakeholder pressure, disconnected comms, and a temptation to lead with ambition instead of truth.

For Humphreys, the key is radical internal transparency—communicating internally before externally, and ensuring every campaign is “earned through action.” For Santo, that means making sustainability desirable and routine. Not every message needs a megaphone. Some should feel as normal as putting leftovers in the fridge.

“My utopia? That sustainability no longer needs to be said. It’s just how we do things.” — Alma Santo

🌍 Local Markets, Global Impact

With 23 countries and wildly diverse regulatory and cultural contexts, Banijay’s ESG strategy isn’t a top-down playbook. It’s a patchwork of locally tuned initiatives: from e-waste drives in Spain, to mandatory bibles that ensure green practices in unaffiliated production houses.

This decentralized model isn’t just practical—it’s philosophical. It reflects the media itself: local in flavor, global in influence.

“We’re not just a production company. We’re part of the media ecosystem that shapes norms. That comes with power—and pressure.” — Kate Humphreys

🪄 If They Had a Magic Wand…

• Minc would make cross-industry ESG collaboration mandatory: “You can’t decarbonise in isolation.”

• Humphreys wants companies to honour their values under pressure: “Authenticity is when you stick to your position even when it’s hard.”

• Santo dreams of sustainability so embedded it no longer needs a name.