Our Story

The story of Sustainable Screens Australia

Australia's screen industry is home to exceptional talent and consistently delivers critically acclaimed content. However, our industry is a decade behind our global partners when it comes to sustainable production practices. We want to keep producing exceptional film and television content for years to come, so we brought together influential industry representatives including ABC, SBS, Netflix, BBC Studios and Screen Australia, recognising the crucial need for collective action and a standardised approach to sustainability.

We know that change is possible. And, with the support of our incredible partner, albert, we're committed to changing the climate of Australian film and television production.

Our team

Tessa de Josselin

Operations and Sustainable Production Coordinator

Tessa is an actress, voiceover artist & environmental advocate best known for her roles on Home & Away, Ready For This, Mr Inbetween, Paper Champions, and Dead Lucky. Tessa has completed post-graduate studies in sustainability, climate leadership and policy — focusing her Master's research on the viability of seaweed as a blue carbon offset. Previously, she designed and delivered environmental events under the name Yikes! and currently hosts and produces the podcast, The Nature Between Us, which aims to demystify environmental issues and engage a wider audience in the climate conversation.

Maree Cochrane

Executive Director

Maree spent the first 10 years of her career in the screen industry, primarily as an Assistant Director. In 2015 she gained a fellowship with the Centre of Sustainability Leadership before joining the organisation as Program Manager, Co-Facilitator and Coach. Maree has held Managing Director roles in bespoke manufacturing and senior positions in Research & Innovation at RMIT and Impact & Partnerships with a First Nations micro-enterprise incubator. Before joining SSA, Maree was Strategy, Engagement and Learning Lead with the Innovation Network — a 17,000-member digital learning initiative supporting Victorian public servants to approach their work differently.

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Zachary Lurje

Learning Designer

Zachary is a filmmaker, teacher, and sustainability advocate. Recently, he has worked as a Sustainability Officer on Mortal Kombat 2 and as an Environmental Steward on Rock Island Mysteries Series 2, completing emission reports as well as implementing sustainable production strategies and communications. He is highly familiar with the BAFTA albert toolkit and Green Production Guide training, resources, and reporting systems. Prior to working in the Film and TV industry, Zachary was a teacher and Head of Department in Education for over a decade, where he led teaching and learning and embedded sustainability as a cross-curriculum priority.

Georgina McClements

Learning Designer

Georgina is a designer dedicated to delivering bespoke projects with a sustainable focus. Her approach is founded in her time as a screen producer where she worked with most major Australian broadcast networks, producing projects that uniquely captured Australian audiences. With production companies including Princess Pictures, Roving Enterprises, CornerBox and Renegade she helped deliver a diverse slate of projects from Summer Heights High to Skithouse. Georgina also worked on building the next generation of screen professionals as a lecturer in Screen Production and Entertainment Business. She is the owner and creative director of George Garden Studio delivering beautiful, sustainable landscape designs.

Our directors

Anna is an award-winning Producer and Impact Strategist best known for her work on two of Australia’s most commercially successful and high-profile feature documentaries — That Sugar Film and 2040. She is Head of Production and Co-Founder of Regen Studios with Writer/Director Damon Gameau. A vocal advocate for environmental stewardship and sustainable production practices, Anna was awarded the 2019 Natalie Miller Fellowship to scale up her advocacy in this area.

Anna Kaplan

Co-Chair

Sara is the Chief Operating Officer for Dreamchaser Entertainment. Prior to this, she was the Managing Director of Production and Operations at Endemol Shine Australia, who make programming such as Survivor Australia, Lego Masters, Gogglebox, Big Brother and MasterChef Australia. Sara was the global chair of Endemol Shine Giving and the driving force behind integrating sustainability into the company culture at ESA and leading a plastic-free pledge across Endemol Shine Group internationally.

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Sara Horn

Co-Chair

Jennifer has worked in the Art departments of Film and Television in Perth and Melbourne since 2005, working on a range of formats from local drama to large-scale international productions, such as Preacher and The Leftovers at the Melbourne Docklands Studios. Jennifer has a Diploma of Sustainable Operations, is currently completing a Bachelor of Sustainability, worked as a Wildlife volunteer in rescue and care, and is the Sustainability Manager at the Environmental Film Festival Australia.

Jennifer McAuliffe

Kate is an Executive Producer at leading factual production company WildBear Entertainment, Co-chair of AIDC, and on the Management Committee for SSA. She has built a successful career producing close to 60 hrs of internationally recognised science, wildlife and history documentaries. Recent credits include Playing With Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story, Carbon: An Unauthorised Biography, and Love Letters To Our Trees. Kate is a passionate advocate for a planet-first approach to making content.

Kate Pappas

Treasurer

Alex is a media and entertainment lawyer with extensive experience working with television producers and networks. For over 10 years, she has advised on a wide range of matters across media, intellectual property, defamation, publishing and licensing, IT and telecommunications, privacy and confidentiality, both in-house and in private practice. She is currently a Business & Legal Affairs Executive at Endemol Shine Australia.

Alex Wasiel

Secretary