The production and post industries have slowly and steadily been adopting green practices while doing their business. Changes can be seen on sets, in studios and in company parking lots, where charging stations and bike racks are starting to appear.
This is the fourth year I have spoken to industry folks who are making real efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, and once again I am inspired.
Isadora Chesler of LA-based ad agency RPA was one of those I interviewed this issue. She says she always has a Flip and Tumble (www.flipandtumble.com) bag in her purse, which folds up and fits into the ball of your hand. “I can’t imagine how many bags I’ve saved by having it handy,” she says. “The non-disposable grocery bags are great if you are in your car, but if you are on foot these are perfect since most women have a handbag,” she explains. “To me it’s a sign of success if I’ve walked away from a shopping trip with no hard paper bags with a company name printed on it.”
She uses mesh bags (pictured), also from Flip and Tumble, for produce instead of getting plastic bags for every fruit or vegetable. “They are made [especially] for produce and are meant to go into your refrigerator.” They are machine washable.
Years ago, Chesler teamed up with executive producer at BKM | Music + Sound MiShawn Williams in GLASS.org, an initiative to get single-use plastic water bottles off sets and out of post houses. It was so successful they were able to disband.
Williams offers her “favorite” green tip: “It’s one that always sticks with me, and I’m always conscious of — rarely do we ever need our water running at full stream from our faucets. One of the best and simplest ways to conserve water is to imagine the size of a pencil. Keep your flow of water at that size. You’ll find it’s really all you need.”
Film studios and television studios are also more environmentally conscious. Aaron Rogers, director, advertising & publicity, NBC Universal, says, “Within Studio Operations, we’ve developed a subsidiary line of Mac Tech LED lighting products that consume 30-70 percent less power than typical production lighting. We are converting to solar/electric golf carts and working with productions to be more green. There is an overall company effort to improve the way we operate our day-to-day business that is better for the environment.”
Are you being green?