by aleida, on July 14th, 2009
This past Saturday, Kevin, our friend John, and I attended the Burbank Green Alliance’s “A REEL GREEN WORKSHOP: Practical Eco-Solutions for the Entertainment Industry.” I was impressed by two particular elements of the event.
One: the organizers evidently took great steps to make the event itself as green as possible. I happily noted that well in advance of Saturday, they were asking all their attendees to bring their own water bottle or coffee mug. For those who didn’t, they rented mugs at a $1 tag, with the proceeds donated to the Burbank Temporary Aid Center, a local charity. Water, tea, etc. were served from large containers – not a single water bottle in sight. The buffet was full of fresh fruits and veggies (not sure if it was locally-grown or organic, though), most of which were perfectly suited as simple finger foods. None of their plates, utensils, and napkins were disposable. Instead of trash cans, they had only a recovery area with composting and recycling bins. They chose a great location by hosting it at a hangar near the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, CA, though it did get pretty hot in the middle of the afternoon with no air conditioning running. Instead, organizers provided a paper fan for every attendee. Kevin and I anticipated a hot space, so we actually had our own fans. I hope they didn’t throw out the ones left unused on the tables. The hangar was huge, yet only one CFL bulb was on. All of the other light came from 20 large skylights. The single CLF bulb could probably have been turned off without affecting the lighting.
Two: it looks like the entertainment industry is starting to give serious consideration to how to be more responsible from a sustainability standpoint. Granted, the topics addressed seemed to focus on very top-level items. There was a lot of attention paid to how to establish successful recycling programs and how to get production team members to use reusable water bottles, but there was also mention of efforts such as how to donate costumes, reuse sets, and reclaim the huge amounts of waste generated by the very construction of a set. Attendees identified a critical stumbling block for progress: a seemingly endemic lack of communication about sustainability goals between “above the line” individuals (producers, directors) and “below the line” players (set design, costume design). However, I’m pretty sure everyone there walked away knowing that all they have to do to move beyond this stumbling block is to just ask. The advice generally went like this: educate your crew; educate your audience; ask questions; and take action. So despite the fact that there wasn’t too much in-depth discussion of any topic in particular, it was great to see that the green movement in the entertainment industry is actually taking root.
I hope the Alliance continues to organize events like this and thus bring more attention to the issue.
