It's not easy being green, Hollywood discovers
'Movie production is an inherently high-polluting business,' consultant says
 | Leonardo DiCaprio are active in helping to push climate change initiatives, but the movie industry is not as green as you might think. |
Mario Anzuoni / Reuters |
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In the parking lots of Hollywood’s studios, the Prius reigns supreme as the current status symbol. Stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Amy Smart are active in helping to push climate change initiatives. Efforts are taking place throughout the movie and television industries to recycle materials and cut down on water consumption.
Meanwhile, trucks that carry equipment from studios to locations and back continue to emit exhaust from diesel engines. Generators that provide power at locations also run on diesel.
Hollywood might not be quite as green as you would think.
“Movie production is an inherently high-polluting business,” said Frank Bohanan, a consultant with the GreenSpeed Automotive Group.
“You usually must move large numbers of people and equipment fairly long distances, often to remote locations," he said. "Once you get situated you have to power lots of lights and other equipment, many times by using diesel generators that are not especially clean. Throw in a few special-effects explosions, and you clearly have left a significant carbon footprint along with many other types of pollution.”
Like any industry, the issue is complex and the results are mixed.
The Motion Picture Association of America, the industry's trade group, is trying to improve Hollywood's track record. Dan Glickman, the chairman and CEO of the MPAA, believes Hollywood is doing its part.
“We are a very public business,” he said. “We have to be in the vanguard.”
Representatives of the MPAA meet regularly with studio executives to discuss ways the industry can be more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, said Melissa Patack, the organization’s governmental affairs liaison.
“Each company has a number of people who work in this area,” she said. “Many are pushing ahead to the forefront, such as in the area of using biodiesel fuel in transportation.”
Such anecdotal evidence of efforts to implement green initiatives is abundant, but the industry as a whole has a difficult time putting forth uniformly consistent measures because so many studios and production companies act independently.
In 2006, UCLA’s Institute of the Environment prepared what it called its Southern California Environmental Report Card, in which it rated the region’s major businesses in areas of environmental concern. Hollywood received a letter grade of “A” under the heading of “environmental best practices” but a “C” in “industrywide actions.”
The MPAA believes the UCLA study is flawed and disagrees with its findings.
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The report estimated that the film and television industry’s activity in California account for roughly 8.4 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent.
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That compares to about 9 million metric tons for the hotel sector, 9 million for the apparel industry, 11.7 million for aerospace, 16.2 million for semiconductor manufacturing and 33.4 million for petroleum refining.
"While the film and television industry in California is the smallest of the six sectors studied, it may be surprising that the (greenhouse gas) emissions are even of the same order of magnitude as in the other sectors," the report said. "This may be due to the heavy reliance of the (industry) on transportation and energy consumption in its normal operations, combined with the sheer size of the industry in Los Angeles and in California.”
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