The following was originally posted on Variety.com:
Film: EMA helps to heal the Green Scar
Org expands reach, assists the greening of 'Hulk'
The Environmental Media Assn. has spent the last 17 years singling out eco-conscious productions and corporate offices in the industry with its green seal designation, and as the number of eligible productions has grown, it looks to expand its influence by becoming an active part of productions.
The org is presently embroiled in creating a "green coach" program, which will send representatives to sets and offices to advise and observe. Last month EMA sent a green coach to the Gersh Agency, at the agency's request, and they plan to work closely with filmmakers on production of "The Incredible Hulk."
"Edward Norton told me he wants 'The Incredible Hulk' to be 'the greenest movie ever,' " says EMA president Debbie Levin. "So we've been working with (producer) Gale Anne Hurd and her team, just trying to see what we can do to push the envelope a little bit to make everything more eco-friendly."
The coaches will advise on myriad aspects of production - recommending purchases, suggesting ways to green the sets and, perhaps most tricky of all, helping producers navigate the fraught byways of carbon-offsetting.
"The carbon-offsetting business is kind of like the Wild West," Levin says. "You've got companies that are just saying, 'well, I'm going to plant a tree.' That doesn't do it anymore. What we really need are companies that are going to invest in wind farms in a third-world country, or solar power in a village, or doing research to try to work with different kinds of fuel. That's what we want to guide productions to."
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