As we ramp up for our Hollywood Goes Green conference on Dec. 11, I’ll be reserving growing space in my blog for comments and interviews about the entertainment industry and environmental issues.
If you’re looking to enhance your company’s green profile, you might start with Business for Social Responsibility, a San Francisco-based non-profit group which helps its 250 member companies integrate sustainability into business strategy and operations through consulting, research and conferences. It also serves many entertainment and media companies, including NBC Universal, Time Warner, Disney and Viacom.
iHollywood Forum President Zahava Stroud recently attended BSR’s annual conference in San Francisco, She interviewed BSR Managing Director Kara Hartness Hurst, who oversees the group’s efforts to get media and entertainment companies to integrate corporate responsibility and environmental principles into their business strategies and operations.
Take products that use licensed content from films and TV shows. Studios can can require vendors to demonstrate ethical environmental practices — just as they already require vendors to comply with fair
labor practices and safe working conditions, she said.
They can also develop or refine their supply chain policies policies to address hazardous materials, water use, water quality and other environmental issues.
Environmental issues fit neatly into existing entertainment industry initiatives such as MTV’s new Think MTV community, which seek to promote youth acitivism.
MTV encourages members to upload content on the site and organize themselves around specific issues.
“This is an example of how to use new technology to motivate social activism among youth in safe and responsible manner," Hurst said.
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