Paramount Classics, Participant Productions, and NativeEnergy have joined forces to offset 100% of the carbon dioxide emissions from air and ground transportation and hotels for production and promotional activities associated with the documentary “AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH” making the film the first carbon-neutral documentary ever. The announcement was made today by John Lesher, President of Paramount Vantage and Paramount Classics.
“AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH,” is a riveting documentary that weaves the science of global warming with former Vice President Al Gore’s personal history and longtime commitment to communicating the need to reverse the effects of global climate change. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, “AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH” was produced by Laurie David, Lawrence Bender and Scott Z. Burns. Jeff Skoll, Davis Guggenheim, Diane Weyermann, Ricky Strauss and Jeff Ivers are the executive producers and the co-producer is Lesley Chilcott. The film opened on May 24, to rave reviews and record-breaking per screen grosses in New York and Los Angeles and will expand to every major market across the country.
”We are so excited by the opening weekend response to ‘AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH’ in New York and Los Angeles,” said Division President, John Lesher. “We think that the promotional activities were essential to getting people to turn out in these numbers and we are grateful that NativeEnergy has created a way for us and Participant Productions to compensate for any negative impact caused by these efforts.”
NativeEnergy, which works with individuals and organizations to help them compensate for their contributions to global warming, calculated the “carbon footprint” from producing “AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH”, including all travel, office, and accommodations related emissions. The company then offset emissions through renewable energy credits or “green tags from new renewable energy projects. Paramount Classics and Participant will split the cost of these tags; the funds will go towards helping build new Native American, Alaskan Native Village, and farmer-owned renewable energy projects, creating sustainable economies for communities in need and diversifying our energy supply.
“It only seemed right to try to counteract the pollution we created in our production and promotion of “AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH.” It would be ironic, not to mention wrong, if we added to the global warming that Al Gore warns about in his film,” says Participant founder Jeff Skoll. “Plus, these renewable energy projects offer options that will decrease our demand for fossil fuels and otherwise would likely not happen without these kinds of investments. So we are happy to be a part of this for all these reasons.”
“As a company, our mandate is to create projects that not only entertain but inspire audiences to take action,” adds Participant president Ricky Strauss. ”In the case of “AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH,” this partnership with NativeEnergy illustrates just one way of doing this.”
“This film is generating tremendous awareness and understanding about the climate crisis, and so many people and organizations now see how easy it is to participate in change by helping build new renewable energy projects,” says NativeEnergy president & CEO Tom Boucher.
This partnership between “AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH” and NativeEnergy will bring critical revenues to these renewable energy endeavors, directly aiding their development and construction through the purchase of shares of the offsets the projects are estimated to generate over their operating lives. Renewable energy sources such as wind and farm methane provide clean electricity and reduce pollution that would otherwise have to come from fossil fuels. Simultaneously, these projects help Native American tribes and family farms operate sustainable businesses in balance with the earth.
Participant, NativeEnergy and Warner Bros. partnered in a similar way on Stephen Gaghan’s provocative thriller about the global oil industry, Syriana. As a result, Syriana became the first “climate neutral” major motion picture, as 100% of the carbon dioxide emissions generated by the production were translated into investments into renewable energy.
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link to www.climatecrisis.net]
United States