 About Gordon AmpelVice President of Global Operations, Gordon Ampel, works to spread environmental consciousness throughout the company's offices globally and to each individual. On his blog, Gordon shares ideas and tips for how we can get involved and become more environmentally responsible. |
Featured Guest | Gordon AmpelSomething Old into Something New… Be Green by Recycling Blue!Posted March 09, 2010 From expensive designer brands to the pair you’ve been breaking in since your first day of school, we are a world that is in love with our jeans. But did you know you can make that love stretch more than through your hips? Reusing and recycling denim is one of the easiest and more creative ways to be green. If you have a few pairs that you can give away, corporations like Cotton are collecting your old denim to make insulation for Habitat for Humanity homes. You can host a drive at your school or workplace, or some retailers in your area might already be participants. Gap* is even giving discounts on new pairs of jeans when you bring in your used. If you can’t find a way to recycle your jeans, try donating them to a second-hand store. Buffalo Exchange or Plato's Closet will give cash for that gently worn pair that you no longer need. Or you could try getting creative with that worn and torn pair! In the UK, send in your old jeans and get sandals in return. If you’re handy with a sewing machine, cut your jeans (and other fabrics) into squares and make a quilt. Not only will it keep you warm, but those nostalgic pairs that you can’t seem to get rid of will finally have a reason to stay. For other creative ideas, check out Twenty-Five Things to Do With Old Jeans.
*In Stores March 5-14, 2010 The Four-Leaf PlanPosted March 05, 2010 St. Patrick’s Day is all about being green, but this year, let’s try to focus on a bit more than color. There are many ways you can make St. Patrick’s Day a fun and eco-friendly holiday. Show your spirit by wearing green clothing made from organic cotton. Unlike regular cotton, organic cotton is pesticide-free and doesn't use fertilizers that are toxic to the environment. Also, let’s not forget one of the most important things about St. Patrick’s Day…the beer. If you’re looking for a good old traditional stout, Whole Food’s carries a selection of organic beers, such as Old Plowshare Stout, by California’s North Cost Brewing Company. You can also opt for locally-brewed, draft beer that is served in a reusable glass. Buying locally uses less resources because it has less miles to travel and you reduce your carbon footprint in the process! Cutting down on meat consumption is another earth-friendly choice. Try cooking a unique Irish veggie dish, rather than a meat-heavy Irish meal. Finally, before St. Patrick’s Day arrives, plant some organic clover seeds in your garden. Not only are they pretty, but also they help to hold moisture in the soil. And who knows, you may just get lucky and find a four-leaf clover!
For specifics on how to make your St. Patrick’s Day as green as possible, check out: Lighter Footstep. Love Your MotherPosted February 12, 2010
Whatever you decide to do, please remember to show Mother Earth how much you care! Be Green by Saving BrownPosted February 12, 2010 In the past, Focus Features has concentrated on recycling both paper bags and cardboard boxes. However, as part of a new Focus On Green initiative, we are focusing on reusing these items, before resorting to recycling. By doing so, we reduce the production of new boxes and materials. Also, the energy used in the curbside collection, the processing, the manufacturing, and the redistributing of recycled products can be saved if we only turn our focus to reusing. In our offices, we are now collecting and storing salvageable paper bags and cardboard boxes for employees to reuse. If you have any bags from either shopping or lunch consider saving and reusing them again. Instead of throwing cardboard boxes into the recycling bin, try utilizing them for storage or paper filing devices. Even old newspapers or shredded paper can be reused and make excellent packing material for shipping. For other great suggestions, check out eHow and Any Box Today. Think of the possibilities! It's Not ComplicatedPosted February 12, 2010 Film production sets are continuing to trend 'green' at Focus Features and Universal Pictures, a practice started with Focus Features’ Away We Go. Following in those eco-friendly footsteps, Universal Pictures’ It’s Complicated recently applied green filmmaking techniques to their production. After shooting a farmer’s market scene, they donated one ton of fruits and vegetables to a local soup kitchen. This food fed over 500 people in one week! Additionally, the upcoming Focus Features film It’s Kind of a Funny Story has implemented green methods as well. On the main set, they have installed a bottle-less water system using water coolers with a filter that tap into the plumbing. All utensils, cups and plates are compostable, and a special waste disposal company has been hired to pre-sort trash, including recyclables and compostables. This increasing trend goes to show it’s not too complicated to practice green-filmmaking, or otherwise! Recycled ArtPosted February 12, 2010
In honor of Green Week, NBC Universal employees helped turn trash into beauty, literally! By compiling old and unwanted stuff, employees were able to create an eco-trash art piece. Amongst the materials used for it were lots of old discarded DVD’s, cell phones, blackberry’s, ‘vinyl’ records, etc., that would have been trashed otherwise. Many of the DVD’s actually came from Focus Features’ NY office. When not contributing to a unique art experience, things like the items listed above are actually recycled. We have bins located throughout our offices, in LA, NY and London, for different items such as batteries (which become hazardous waste if dumped in a landfill), DVD’s, plastic bags, bottles & cans, paper, etc. Be sure to keep all of the recycling efforts up in your workplace AND at home-it really does make a difference!
What special measures do you, your friends & family, and your office take to recycle? Green Film FestivalsPosted February 12, 2010 The number of film festivals that showcase environmental projects is increasing! The American Conservation Film Festival, for example, focuses on classic style wildlife films, as well as human environmental impact. The festival also invites guest speakers to discuss environmental issues, in order to increase audience awareness. Another such festival, the Princeton Environmental Film Fest, focuses on minimizing waste. When serving food, the festival uses EcoWare, disposable plates and utensils made of a sugar by-product. Other major festivals that are weighted in environmental consciousness include The Wild & Scenic Film Festival, Earthdance, Tales from Planet Earth and Riofest. What green events, film festivals, markets, conventions, etc., would you recommend? A Green ThanksgivingPosted February 12, 2010 As Thanksgiving approaches, there are several ways to prepare with the environment in mind. When picking out the perfect holiday meal, consider purchasing organic, locally grown items, such as fruits, vegetables, eggs and dairy. Supporting local farms and businesses is better for your community and the environment. Buying locally saves fuel and cuts down on pollution, ultimately helping to reduce your carbon footprint. When at the grocery store, be sure to bring your own reusable shopping bags. If it's not always possible, then be sure to reuse the paper and plastic bags you get from the store. Lastly, when those dishes start to pile up, don't forget to use eco-friendly, biodegradable dish soap! For more green holiday tips, check out Earth 911. Make Green Count!Posted February 12, 2010  As part of Green is Universal’s third annual “Green Week,” you have the opportunity to “make green count” by pledging to adopt an eco-friendly habit. Throughout Green Week, promotion for the “Green Counts Here” campaign will appear on various NBCU properties. For example, the SyFy channel will encourage carpooling to work, and Bravo will promote the use of reusable water bottles. Pledging can be easily made on each brand’s website. A running tally of the various pledges will be kept here. What have you got to lose? Commit to a greener lifestyle today! Zero WastePosted February 12, 2010  Picture a world with no trash dumpsters. Seems far-fetched, right? Well, believe it or not, this is slowly becoming a reality thanks to a new anti-garbage movement known as “zero waste.” From Nantucket down to Atlanta, companies are removing dumpsters and encouraging less waste through recycling and compost. The Honda car dealership has completely removed dumpsters at eight of their North American plants. Even Yellowstone National Park is contributing by using plant-based plastics that dissolve after being heated! How will you contribute to the “zero waste” strategy? If you are interested in another take on how conservation can impact the rest of the world-in this case, relative to sustainability, check out: Conservation Value Notes. Power Save!Posted February 12, 2010  Before you get your hands on an eco-friendly power strip, try shutting down your computer at the end of every workday. For a company like Focus Features, simply shutting off our computers could save over $9,000 annually! Also remember to unplug your cell phone chargers while not in use. This will not only prevent idle current from raising your electrical bill, but will save energy as well. To estimate how much your office could save by shutting down computers each day, visit: Tips and Tricks Plants = ProductivityPosted February 12, 2010  Did you know that plant-filled rooms reduce airborne bacteria and molds by 50-60 %? In our offices, plants help purify the air and reduce carbon monoxide and dioxide. Studies have also shown that plants increase worker productivity by 12%! Try the English ivy, heartleafed philodendron, or the green spider plant for plants that effectively prosper indoors with low light and less water. What plants do you have in your offices? For more information, visit: Green Plants for Green Buildings Befriending Your Co-Workers…and Your EnvironmentPosted February 12, 2010 The office that works well together stays together! At Focus, we understand that healthy relationships amongst our employees lead to higher productivity in the workplace. Encouraging your employees to carpool to work could help build office relationships and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions! Each year, the average American contributes 27 tons of carbon dioxide into the air. Simply sharing a ride to work can easily reduce this statistic. So why not help the environment and your office dynamic at the same time? Start carpooling today! The Smart Way to GoPosted February 12, 2010  As mentioned earlier, our London, NY and LA offices switched from using incandescent light bulbs to using much more environmentally friendly light bulbs. But this isn’t the only energy saving method we’ve adopted! Our offices have started using Smart Strips, power strips that end up saving energy and money. Did you know your computer still uses energy when it’s turned off? This type of energy is called “idle current,” and like it or not, we have to pay for it. This can happen even while your phone charger is left plugged in. The Smart Strip prevents the idle current from running, saving our offices 73% of energy. This way, our computers are only using power during our regular office hours. Paying for itself in only six weeks, this is an easy and affordable method to help make your home or office a greener environment! For more information visit: Smart House USA Liquid WoodPosted February 12, 2010 Sounds pretty crazy right? Yet thanks to German scientists, liquid wood is a real prospect to replace plastic! While most plastics are made from petroleum, this alternative is constructed from renewable raw materials, like stray pieces of wood and paper waste, combined with fibers and wax. The mixture can then be molded just like plastic. Not only is liquid wood eco-friendly to make, it can be recycled up to five times! The Ford Motor Company is now exploring the possibility of using liquid wood in their car interiors and engines. Can you think of opportunities for liquid wood?
Keep trying to reduce plastic use and be on the lookout for liquid wood! Put a Cork in ItPosted February 12, 2010  Focus Features, like many companies, has a bulletin board in the office. It’s centrally located by the kitchen where there is heavy foot traffic. Focus On Green recently commandeered the board to post easy tips for going Green, like unplugging unused electronics and buying from your local farmer’s market. Then one of our interns (Annalisa) mentioned that she made her own bulletin board from old corks! She reassures me it took a substantial time to collect them all. Consider making a cork bulletin board of Green tips for your home and office (just make sure to pace the collection process)! Don't forget to send us your feedback! "No Impact Man"Posted February 12, 2010  Imagine having NO impact on our environment. This means NO cars or airplanes, buying only locally grown foods, NO elevators, and producing NO trash! (I don’t think I could last a week!) I just heard of a new documentary (and book) called No Impact Man. It’s about a Manhattan family (the Beavans) that tries to live for a whole year without affecting the environment! Check out the trailer here and visit Colin Beavan’s blog here! Focus Features is not involved with the film but I certainly applaud this concept and I can't wait to see the movie - it came out September 4th! Green Lunch VendorsPosted February 12, 2010 Tired of lunch deliveries with extra packaging and plastic utensils? We sure were! So we had our interns contact our frequented restaurants to ask how green-friendly they are. It took quite a while with all the departments, and unknowingly many of which frequent the same places. Luckily we heard about Seamlessweb.com. It’s a great website for take-out service that allows users to Green their orders (i.e. sans plastic). We also had an intern make a list of green-friendly restaurants that deliver in our area. Now our employees know which lunch spots are Green! Why not do the same for your office and home?! . Please share your Green lunch vendors with us! A Green WorkoutPosted February 12, 2010  Stressed about not finding enough time in your busy work week to squeeze in a workout? Instead of riding the elevator, take the stairs! Granted this may not be practical in some high-rise buildings but give it a shot. Perhaps start by just taking the stairs down to the ground floor. Our NYC office is located on the lower floors of a building so it’s quite easy for us to use the stairs. However, it wasn’t until recently when we placed a sign (see above) next to the elevators encouraging people to take the stairs that now practically everyone does! We also placed signs in the other elevator lobbies of our building. And don’t forget to use the stairs at home – you’ll be surprised how much money you’ll save on your energy bill (and how great your derrière will look)! Get more Green tips at Tree Hugger! Can You SIGG It?Posted February 12, 2010  Imagine a world with no plastic water bottles…might sound crazy or even scary, right? Think again. Focus was able to successfully purge our offices AND productions of plastic water bottles! For the office, water pitchers and glasses are used instead. Film sets usually don’t have access to sinks or fountains, especially while on location. So, cast and crew members are given SIGG or Klean Kanteen water bottles – a nice gift for any employee. These bottles are made of aluminum and are reusable. It’s simple to refill your container at the nearest water source, which is why we now supply water coolers on set. Check out how Universal’s new production Paul is utilizing SIGG bottles! These bottles are guaranteed to be the hot topic around your water cooler…Can you SIGG it? |
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