Dec 13, 2024
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Flying Moose Goes Green (and you can, too!)
by Jonathan Luskin
Until recently, "going green" at my production company, Flying Moose Pictures - which writes and produces video for a variety of performing artists and nonprofits as well as for corporations - had been limited to recycling paper and plastic and letting Sharkey, our enormous gray cat, soak up excess heat by sleeping atop a CRT computer monitor.
Jonathan Luskin demos a primary going green tool. Photo: Jonathan LuskinOur conception of green all started to change, however, when a series of clients questioned our commitment to reducing Flying Moose's carbon footprint. The clients - a producer of recycled fly ash bricks, a solar energy company, and the manufacturer of filters so powerful they can turn liquid paint into potable water - had asked for our green credentials. So we decided to get some.
Get Certified
We discovered the San Francisco Green Business Program, which helps businesses become environmentally responsible - while staying profitable. The program sets stringent criteria, provides technical assistance, and publicly promotes green businesses with a seal that enables clients to select a company in keeping with their values. Certification is free, though the cost of implementing green practices can be significant, both in time and money.
Although we are not yet certified, so far the process has been surprisingly educational and smooth. Certification began with an amazingly thorough, multi-page Web questionnaire that asked questions like: "Have you checked the evaporator coils on your AC system for excessive frost?" "Is all the office equipment using energy saver standby mode?" "How many incandescent lamps have you replaced with CFLs?" and "Is all your paper recycled?"
The Seventy-One-Fold Path To Green
Submission of the questionnaire was followed by an extensive telephone interview and review. Located in the former Sears building in San Francisco's Mission district, our studio has very simple lighting, heating, and cooling systems, yet the review yielded a seventy-one-item checklist to complete prior to a site inspection by a program representative. We will likely be required to install some new lighting and a low-flow toilet, as well as purchase green products while conserving paper, ink, gas, and electric energy. We will also have to confer with our landlord about implementing a few pest management recommendations (apparently a large cat is insufficient).
Cat Loses Hot Perch
All of our staff are contributing to the certification process, coordinated by Katherine Cox, our strategic manager. If we pass the site inspection, Flying Moose Pictures will be a green-certified business. Since we will likely replace the last of our energy-burning CRT monitors, Sharkey the cat will have to find an alternative heat source for his naps.
Jonathan Luskin is a partner in Flying Moose Pictures: http://www.moosepix.com/[email protected]
Posted on Aug 13, 2010 - 09:52 AM
by Jonathan Luskin
Until recently, "going green" at my production company, Flying Moose Pictures - which writes and produces video for a variety of performing artists and nonprofits as well as for corporations - had been limited to recycling paper and plastic and letting Sharkey, our enormous gray cat, soak up excess heat by sleeping atop a CRT computer monitor.
Jonathan Luskin demos a primary going green tool. Photo: Jonathan LuskinGet Certified
We discovered the San Francisco Green Business Program, which helps businesses become environmentally responsible - while staying profitable. The program sets stringent criteria, provides technical assistance, and publicly promotes green businesses with a seal that enables clients to select a company in keeping with their values. Certification is free, though the cost of implementing green practices can be significant, both in time and money.
Although we are not yet certified, so far the process has been surprisingly educational and smooth. Certification began with an amazingly thorough, multi-page Web questionnaire that asked questions like: "Have you checked the evaporator coils on your AC system for excessive frost?" "Is all the office equipment using energy saver standby mode?" "How many incandescent lamps have you replaced with CFLs?" and "Is all your paper recycled?"
The Seventy-One-Fold Path To Green
Submission of the questionnaire was followed by an extensive telephone interview and review. Located in the former Sears building in San Francisco's Mission district, our studio has very simple lighting, heating, and cooling systems, yet the review yielded a seventy-one-item checklist to complete prior to a site inspection by a program representative. We will likely be required to install some new lighting and a low-flow toilet, as well as purchase green products while conserving paper, ink, gas, and electric energy. We will also have to confer with our landlord about implementing a few pest management recommendations (apparently a large cat is insufficient).
Cat Loses Hot Perch
All of our staff are contributing to the certification process, coordinated by Katherine Cox, our strategic manager. If we pass the site inspection, Flying Moose Pictures will be a green-certified business. Since we will likely replace the last of our energy-burning CRT monitors, Sharkey the cat will have to find an alternative heat source for his naps.
Jonathan Luskin is a partner in Flying Moose Pictures: http://www.moosepix.com/[email protected]
Posted on Aug 13, 2010 - 09:52 AM
