What Do Green and Brown Make?

A Sustainable Future for Land and Lens

We’re living in a time of fast fixes, constant modernisation, and an appetite for newness that never seems to slow. With that comes irreversible disruption which is a worry here: careless waste, vanishing heritage, extreme weather, and so more fragile farms and countryside.

At Farm Locations, we see sustainability as more than cutting and offsetting the harm caused. It’s about rethinking what we already have in possession — the real, the natural, the often overlooked — and helping it survive and thrive. It’s about changing the thought process and resisting the urge to think that elsewhere is better, or to replace what’s there, to spend unnecessary money, or to create something then waste something, again. 

That’s where our Green and Brown ethos comes in. It’s our take on sustainability, shaped by what we know best: farms, landscapes and film shoots. And it’s where we think we can make a meaningful difference — not only by helping productions tread more lightly, but by helping landowners see the untapped potential in their land, buildings and legacy, without the need to change a thing.  It’s forging a sustainable future when both the land and lens work together. 

We believe in being local and natural in the way we function, not wasteful, not artificial, not hard hitting.

Why “Green and Brown”?

Because sustainability isn’t just green. It’s also earthy, messy, real and rooted. It’s about conservation and regeneration just as much as producing electric vehicles and paperless paperwork. It’s about honouring the good in the brown stuff too — the soil, the hard graft, the heritage and natural materials that underpins every farm we work with.

This is our version of sustainability. It’s a mix of Green and Brown.

🌿 Green: The Colour of the Living World

Green is more than colour — it’s a signal. A symbol of life, growth, food and biodiversity. From forests to hedgerows, fields to gardens, green tells us the land is alive and thriving. And we want to help keep it that way.

At Farm Locations, we work to:

• Support the biodiversity of our farms — by helping generate extra income for farmers by showcasing their landscapes,  and the variety of plant and animal life on the land. 
• Guide film crews to tread carefully and respectfully on farmland.
• Enable greener productions, by sharing knowledge on local suppliers, on-site resources, and low-waste solutions.
• Give landowners a voice — reminding creatives that farms aren’t just backdrops. They produce our food, provide nature’s habitat and are the stewards of our green and pleasant land.

🌾 Brown: The roots of the Countryside

Brown is the colour of the soil we rely on. The old barns that still stand. The rural heritage and raw beauty we often overlook in the rush for efficiency and modern demands.

We want Brown to matter too. 

• Brown is the soil that regenerative farmers are working hard to rebuild, with natural systems replacing artificial intervention, and taking a more holistic view. It’s about restoring, not stripping, about nurturing, not destroying. We can help share knowledge with productions and guide on ways to respect the ground when there. 
• Brown is the architecture of the past – the natural materials of timber and stone, muck and straw, that form ancient houses and buildings. It’s the scuffed doorway, the crooked wall, the rusting tractor — it’s the natural, raw, untouched features that productions love and we should help farmers to preserve.
• Brown is about reduce, reuse, upcycle. Farmers are masters at repurposing. So why not let a disused grain store become a soundstage? Or an unwanted set build find a second life on the farm?

Where others might see ugly, inconvenient, outdated or impractical, we see value. And we want to help landowners hold onto these spaces — What could be more sustainable than enjoying what we have in front of us, rethinking our narrative and embracing all that we have that’s there?

That’s circular thinking. That’s sustainability in action.

🪴 Green & Brown: Where Sustainability Comes to Life

When you mix green and brown, you get something to savour — not just in colour, but a fuller picture. A more honest kind of sustainability.

• A location that supports biodiversity, grows good food and protects its landscape and heritage.
• A production that treads lightly, saves money and tells a deeper story.
• A farmer who holds onto what matters and earns from it.

Our Role in All This

We’re here to:

• Bridge land and lens by connecting responsible landowners with conscious creatives.
• Promote lower-impact shoots and help the industry reduce its footprint.
• Champion the benefits of choosing a farm location — not just for the backdrop, but for the biodiversity, family farm survival, the rural economy and conservation value it represents.
• Help preserve the fragile beauty of Britain’s farms and food producers — before it’s too late.

Meet Us at Groundswell

We’ll be at Groundswell again this year — Europe’s leading regenerative farming festival — to listen, learn, and share what we’re doing to support a more sustainable future for both film and farming.

Come find us in the Exhibition Marquee MS6. We’d love to chat — about sustainability, locations, and how magical it is when land and lens work together.

Because when you blend Green and Brown — you don’t just get a new colour. You get a more sustainable future.