CINEMA and GREEN - What's The CONNECTION ?

Cinema Mucho Gusto is a blog which centers around commenting about the cinema industry, mainly from the perspective of movie distributors and exhibitors. So, you ask why are there so many posts about environmental issues ?

The answer is that two years ago this month I began thinking about the sustainability of cinemas and how much more " green " they could become and how to go about initiating that processs in the industry.

Cinemas are big users of paper products and energy. They are big boxes, essentially, divided into smaller boxes, but use a great deal of energy, as the utilization of cinemas is less then 15%. Meaning that 85% of the time when a movie is being played there is no one sitting in the seat.

I began my quest to make cinemas greener by educating myself. I read and studied everything I could find regarding the green movement and environmental sustainability of existing buildings. I join the U.S. Green Building Council and became a LEED associate, and developed a action plan to impliment my goals.

6 months later Arboreel, an environmental evaluation and rating system designed specifically for cinemas was conceived. Based upon LEED criteria, Arboreel is a unique process which moves cinemas along the sustainability path.

So,in response to the twenty or so blog comments I have received on this point, this is why Cinema Mucho Gusto has gone "Green" . And why the cinema related posts and opinions I write dovetail with the green commentary .

Jim Lavorato