Going green goes to Hollywood

It’s no surprise that a Hollywood blockbuster leaves a huge carbon footprint. The lights, the camera, the action all cost energy, not to mention the flights to global locations, lavish studio offices and the multiple takes to get it just right on screen. In fact, the film industry has the dubious distinction of being a top polluter in Los Angeles, second only to petroleum. 

Thanks to A-list stars like Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio and Harrision Ford standing up for the environment, Hollywood is going green and offsetting their carbon footprint.  The most straightforward approach is to tally carbon emissions and plant trees to offset that number. Other approaches include recycling programs, reducing paper consumption by using double-sided scripts and supplying crew members with bikes for on-set transportation.

Recent carbon neutral films include “Evan Almighty”, “An Inconvenient Truth”, and “Syriana”.  Producer Marty Bowen and Director Catherine Hardwicke even shelled out $15,000 to offset the carbon emissions for “The Nativity Story”.

Other members of the industry are taking it even further. For example, The Dave Matthews Band has partnered with a company called Native Energy to offset their carbon emissions for their entire history. With a dose of cool from Hollywood, going green getting is likely to continue as the hottest trend in the consumer mainstream.