The growing adoption of emissions trading systems (ETS) can provide a model for other unrelated problems.
Hollywood, for example, can use the principles embedded in ETS to guide a culture shift away from exploitation and other serious issues towards accountability and a more positive future.
ETS growth
Emissions trading systems make up a significant part of many countries’ methods for fighting climate change, especially in Europe.
Since the first ETS was adopted in 2005, ETS geographic and sectoral coverage has grown substantially. Today, the systems are in operation in jurisdictions composing 58% of global GDP. They function on principles of egality, whereby those responsible for creating pollution must pay for it. Motivated by the drive for net zero, an ETS aims to target those responsible for the most emission-intensive activities.
Hollywood can take a lesson in accountability from ETS adoption. A more robust means of holding problematic individuals or companies accountable for their actions can be an effective tool for creating a safer and more productive working environment.
Hollywood compliance tools
Much like an ETS, Hollywood compliance tools could extend to fines, loss of business, or increasingly fraught investor relations.
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By GlobalDataSince 2005, these have been effective means of decreasing absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and more than tripling the share of GHG covered by ETS. Emulating the same scrutiny could be an effective way to institute a comparable culture shift.
For Hollywood, improving accountability could address the results that 69% of workers do not believe a powerful harasser will be held accountable for their actions from a survey of the entertainment industry.
Stringent regulation
The breadth of ETS adoption serves as an example of how stringent regulation in one region can compel comparative adoptions in others. It also demonstrates how it can blend with other regulations to achieve broader improvement.
While the EU ETS is the EU’s flagship climate policy, its impacts on emissions reductions are amplified by the collection of other policies and programs, such as land use management, renewable energy support, and growing sustainable fuel infrastructure.
To tackle the systemic problems raised during movements like MeToo or the Writer’s Guild of America strike, company culture shifts must build on and embrace broader social change.
Just as an ETS balances multiple frameworks, Hollywood can integrate fair wages, safe environments, and creative freedom. These movements could work together to achieve systemic change, ensuring transparency, accountability, and long-term improvements.
By setting universal standards, as an ETS does for emissions, Hollywood could create a healthier, more inclusive industry culture. Collaboration between labour, creativity, and ethics, inspired by ETS models, could reshape the industry’s future.
Cut or face the cost
Stringent ETS compliance forces companies to cut emissions or face the cost. Such rules drive real behavioural change. Since the EU ETS was introduced in 2005, emissions have been cut by almost half.
As the number of companies contending with an ETS grows, behavioural change is inevitable. When ethical behaviour and fair treatment are non-negotiable, industry-wide change becomes the standard.
As emissions trading systems drive global compliance, Hollywood can push for universal accountability, making safe, equitable working conditions the norm. Enforcing strict compliance with policies on fair wages, harassment, and equal opportunities can reshape the industry. Accountability, as with an ETS, would ensure merit-based hiring, safe environments, and a positive culture.
Clear consequences for violations, similar to ETS fines, could create lasting change. Hollywood needs firm, enforceable standards to improve working conditions and foster transparency and fairness.
