The Oscars goes green

 

by Deborah Miarkowska

Last night’s Oscars the greenest ever.

February 23, 2009 by Maria Kaski of greenmystyle.com

The Oscars have always been more Champagne than tap water, consistently advocating glitz and glamour over ethical options, but for last night’s event the tide seemed to be changing. Maria Kaski takes a look at what made the 81st Acadamy Awards a green occasion to be proud of.
There are so many things to love about the Oscars that I don’t know where to begin. Up until yesterday I might have said my adoration of the event stemmed from the simple fact that the star-studded show gives us mere mortals a chance to gaze in awe, admiration and sometimes envy at the collection of sumptuous outfits, perfectly coiffed hair and glistening make-up paraded on the red carpet. But my oh my! How things can change in a day.

Although I must confess that some of the dresses did, as always, make me giddy with excitement (I still cannot quite get the image of Penelope Cruz in her dazzling white vintage 1950s Balmain gown out of my head, and Melissa Leo looked amazing in her early 1940s-inspired gold Badgley Miska gown), this year’s Oscars, held at the Kodak Theatre, will go down in history as an altogether greener affair.

Forget the green-eyed monster, we’re talking eco-consciousness here, and the 81st Academy Awards had it in abundance.

The show’s producers joined forces with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to significantly reduce the impact the telecast and related events had on the environment. At a time when global warming and soaring energy demand are the focus of rising international attention, it is great to see the Oscars setting a high profile example for its estimated 40 million viewers.

The Academy Award’s greening initiative included offsetting carbon emissions of the pre-show, the red carpet event, the telecast, and the Governor’s Ball; incorporating environmental features into the greenroom design; promoting recycling and reducing waste generated by the annual event; and using recycled materials in paper products, including the Oscar ballots themselves.

To add icing on the cake, film star extraordinaire and absolute sex god Leonardo DiCaprio, an NRDC trustee who was also nominated for Best Actor on the night, announced this initiative with former Vice President Al Gore during the live Oscar telecast. According to Mr. DiCaprio: “For the first time in the history of the Oscars, environmentally intelligent practices have been thoughtfully integrated into the planning of tonight’s event, to make our world healthier and help combat the threat of global warming.”

Frances Beinecke, NRDC President said: “On behalf of the NRDC, I would like to salute Oscar producer Laura Ziskin who worked to reduce the environmental impact of this production by making the Academy Awards carbon neutral, cutting waste, and choosing environmentally preferable materials.”

Some of the results of the landmark scheme included the use of ecologically superior paper for telecast and non-telecast event materials such as nomination ballots, envelopes, press materials, programs, invitations, and certificates, hybrid vehicle transportation provided for presenters and staff and a comprehensive recycling system instituted for event waste.

So now that the Academy Awards have been deemed to be “carbon neutral”, a coveted environmental designation which means the event has reduced or prevented the accumulation of global warming gases in the atmosphere to make up for the gases that it has inadvertently emitted, and secured Leonardo DiCaprio as a spokesperson, there really can be no excuse not to let green Oscar fever win you over.

Image courtesy of oscars.com

« back to previous page

Comments are closed.