Information - How BC1® works

How BC1® works

BC1® (Business Channel One) is an independent film platform and public knowledge archive on sustainable innovation. It operates as a social enterprise, based in the Netherlands and serving a European audience. The Dutch-language version of the platform is available via bc1.nl. Films here aren't temporary, they're lasting: public, ad-free, and findable, long after the project that produced them has ended. Making films is part of that process, not the goal in itself. For a project this is dissemination that does not stop when the funding does. The film stays public, with text and subtitles, so it remains findable for anyone who takes up the same subject later. Communication during a project reaches the people who are there at the time. An archive also reaches the one who only runs into the subject three years from now.

Here's how that works.

What's on the platform

The films cover innovations that are worth seeing, and worth learning from. They're made according to journalistic principles: factual, verifiable, and honest about what doesn't work yet.

How a film gets made

Every production starts with a conversation. Together with your organisation, we work out what's worth showing, who should be interviewed, and what the core of the story is. The people working on the ground know the subject best; we know what a viewer needs to understand it. The concept is settled before filming begins.

Our focus is on making sure a film explains rather than promotes. That's not a limitation, it's why the material still holds up years later, and why a teacher, policy officer or journalist can cite it as a source. It's also why we don't publish advertising films, recruitment videos or corporate presentations, even when they're about an innovation.

Naturally, a company gains visibility from having a film made. But that's a side effect, not the point, the difference is in the approach: the film explains, rather than sells. It's also why people watch it through to the end: you click away from an ad, not from an explanation.

Publishing an existing film, or making one together

If you already have a film about an innovation, it can be placed here: made public, subtitled, transcribed, and findable again. This applies especially to films made for a project or programme that vanish once it's over.

If there's no film yet, Team BC1® can make one.

Either way, we look at the content itself: is this about an innovation, is there something to show, would it be useful to someone else.

Advertising films, recruitment videos and company presentations do not go on the platform, even when they are about an innovation. Not sure whether your film qualifies, put it to us and we will look at it together and talk through what is possible.

Photo: Small innovation with big impact

Who it is for

What BC1® does works out differently per sector. For civil society organisations, for instance, a film is made to last the length of a project and then disappears, while the subject stays relevant for years. Stories that last is about exactly that.

For education, that archive works as a source in the classroom, in a course module or in a presentation. Practical education and BC1® explains how that works.

If you work in policy, the archive shows how a scheme, grant or programme plays out on the ground. That is what Real-world stories of policy in action is about.

For companies it works on two sides. Anyone who has to report on sustainability, laid down in Europe as the CSRD, ends up with figures that outsiders find hard to place. A film shows where those figures come from, so employees, shareholders and the public can follow them. On the other side, an innovation is often developed locally, put on the company's own website, and disappears the moment the project ends. A few years later the next party starts from scratch, often with public money again. On BC1® it stays, public and findable.

Funding and editorial responsibility

Films are funded in three ways. They're produced on commission, paid for by the client. Or they're made within a project where BC1® takes part as a media partner, funded from the project budget. Or an organisation asks us to research and cover a topic, because they believe it deserves more attention. Either way, the production is paid for, that's how the platform sustains itself.

That funding covers our costs. When there's room, we invest ourselves too: we produce a film unpaid, because we believe the subject deserves it. We decide which topic that is, though tips are always welcome. That's how BC1® keeps growing, beyond any commission or project.

The content is always developed in consultation, aiming for a film that's factually accurate and easy to understand. If opinions differ on the journalistic angle, the final call rests with us. We always correct factual errors.

Built to be found

No algorithm decides what you see on BC1®. Films aren't buried because they're old or rarely watched, they stay part of the platform, directly accessible.

Ask a search engine or an AI system such as ChatGPT or Gemini a specific question, and you may land directly on the film that has the answer.

Keeping knowledge alive

Finishing a project doesn't mean a film disappears from BC1®. When a topic becomes relevant again, we bring it back into the spotlight, through the website and social media.

During a prolonged drought, for example, we highlight our documentary on Zoetwaterboeren (Freshwater Farmers) again. When grid congestion or energy storage makes headlines, related films come back to the surface. Not because they're new, because they're relevant again.

That's editorial work, not an algorithm.

Open to everyone

Free to watch means more here than no advertising and no paywall. It also means you should be able to use the site when reading or seeing is difficult.

Read aloud. Every article has a Read aloud button. The text is spoken out loud and the words light up as it goes, so you can follow along. You can stop at any point, and two arrows jump a piece back or forward.

Point to hear. The menu bar has a Voice button. Switch it on and the site speaks whatever you point at with the mouse: a menu item, a heading, a link, a paragraph. That way you can explore the site without having to read all of it. The button stays on until you switch it off.

Subtitles. Our films are subtitled in seven languages. For new films we also add a track describing what can be heard, for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and a spoken description of what happens on screen.

Using the keyboard. Press the tab key and a link appears at the top that skips the menu and takes you straight to the article. Everything you can reach with tab gets a clear outline, so you can see where you are.

Contact

Questions about the platform, submitting material, or using it; reach us via
Email: 
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What our clients say

Rob Beemster, Greenport NHN
"What appeals to me personally is the documentary-style approach they take. The videos are visually engaging, but they also give the viewer something meaningful to take away. Before they head out with the camera, they ask the right questions. With the valuable help of BC1®, we've succeeded in bringing developments in agriculture and energy to our target audience in a compelling way."

Ada Kaspersma, Adalyse
"Thanks to BC1®, my company gained much more visibility. They are professional, dedicated, and a pleasure to work with."

People and organisations featured exclusively here