Debbie Levin has been the CEO of EMA, which links entertainment and the environmental communities with the hopes of bringing sustainability, since 2000. Levin notes that “there was no one” in the studio system designated to “greening” film sets back then. Now, each major studio has in-house departments dedicated to sustainable production.

FROM LOCATION SCOUTING TO REUSABLE FLATWARE, SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES ADD UP TO AGREEN PRODUCTION-AND SAVE MONEY IN THE PROCESS.

I see a net-zero emissions production coming," declares Jonathan Blitstein of Tandem Pictures. "It's not tomorrow, but soon. It's about aligning your values with your practices now, so that you're ready when that future comes."

"Every detail of our work has some impact on the environment," said producer Julie Christeas at the outset of production. Her awareness of that fact supercharged their green practices. Black Bear stars Aubrey Plaza as a filmmaker who plays the house guest of a troubled couple, played by Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon. The film was written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine and premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. It was distributed theatrically and on streaming platforms last year by Momentum Pictures.

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Ray Halbritter, Oneida Indian Nation of New York Representative and Nation Enterprises CEO, has been named executive chairman of the Environmental Media Assn. Halbritter, who also sits on the board of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, recently launched Standing Arrow Prods. to help increase representation and support of Native American and Indigenous peoples on-screen.

“I am proud and humbled to help guide EMA’s ongoing mission to promote environmental progress,” Harlbritter said in a statement. “America’s First People understand in our souls the pressing urgency of EMA’s struggle and we will always use our voices to help protect the health of our planet.”

After success certifying TV shows and movies for sustainability, the Environmental Media Association finally tackled commercials for one of the small screen’s biggest events: the Super Bowl. The organization awarded its Green Seal Gold certification to all six Anheuser-Busch ads.

Since 2003, the Environmental Media Association has been trying to ensure that movies and TV shows were both environmentally safe and sustainable. As part of its work, EMA helped productions cut waste, reduce their carbon footprints, and curb energy use—awarding many its Green Seal certification. Now, EMA has finally brought that sustainability to small-screen advertising.

“We are the global standard for green production for television and film,” said Debbie Levin, EMA’s CEO. “We’ve tried to get into advertising and commercials for years, and we couldn’t get any traction with it.”

WE HAVE ONE WORD FOR YOU. JUST ONE WORD: Batteries.

Let's start in the U.S. President Joe Biden is moving quickly to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles and jump-start a domestic industry. Days after taking office, he signed an executive order to use American-made, union-built, zero-emission cars, vans and trucks to ferry government employees.

It’s a vivid example of how Biden won’t need Congress to act on climate. It’s an even more vivid example of how hard it will be to deliver real change.

It's that time of year again: the Super Bowl is upon us.

While it's hard to believe that it's (already? only?) been a year since the Kansas City Chiefs' defeat of the San Francisco 49ers — not to mention Jennifer Lopez and Shakira's epic halftime show — Super Bowl LV ads are steadily rolling in to remind us of what a year it's been.

On Feb. 7, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs will face off at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Inauguration poet Amanda Gorman will perform ahead of the game's coin toss, The Weeknd will perform at the Pepsi Halftime Show and I will perform my half-hearted appreciation for sports.

Did you know that you’re actually a billionaire? In Stella’s Super Bowl 55 commercial, Lenny Kravitz reminds you how you’re ‘rich in life’ and how best to share the wealth before it’s all ‘over.’

“We’re all born with 2.5 billion heartbeats,” says Lenny Kravitz at the start of Stella Artois’ commercial slated for Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7. In the spot, the Grammy Award-winning rock icon realizes that everyone is born a “heartbeat billionaire” and that instead of hoarding this wealth, it’s better to spread it around. “Let’s not waste the fortune within us,” he says, as his 1991 classic “It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over” soundtracks a gorgeously animated film. “Invest in each other, in the moments we share, because you’re rich in life when you’re a heartbeat billionaire.”

It's already been an unusual football season, with the NFL postponing some games and taking its Pro Bowl virtual on video game Madden. This uncertainty has extended to the timing and format of Super Bowl LV, confusing marketers across categories.

Players, fans and advertisers alike face a tricky playing field and, in the weeks ahead, will have to navigate the ongoing challenges spurred by COVID-19. Despite that, brands have begun to confirm their ad buys or announce switch-ups for the championship match in February.

Anheuser-Busch says all of its Super Bowl ads have been certified “gold” by the Environmental Media Association (EMA); the brewer says it is the first major advertiser to partner with EMA by adopting its guidelines throughout Super Bowl advertising production.

The EMA Green Seal certification for production is an established set of guidelines for sustainable production of TV, movie and events. Anheuser-Busch says it worked closely with the EMA, creative agencies, and production partners throughout the production of its Super Bowl ads to ensure each of the six spots met EMA’s established best practices for sustainable production, in areas including production, makeup, catering, and transportation. All vendors involved in production were also required to comply with EMA standards.

For the first time since 1983, when Anheuser-Busch used all of its ad time to introduce a beer called Bud Light, the beer giant isn’t advertising its iconic Budweiser brand during the Super Bowl. Instead, it’s donating the money it would have spent on the ad to coronavirus vaccination awareness efforts.

Anheuser-Busch still has four minutes of advertising during the game for its other brands including Bud Light, Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade, Michelob Ultra and Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer. Those are some of its hottest sellers, particularly among younger viewers.But the decision to not do an anthemic Budweiser ad — which over nearly four decades has made American icons of frogs chirping “Budweiser,” guys screaming “Whassup!”, and of course the Budweiser Clydesdales — showcases the caution with which some advertisers are approaching the first COVID-era Super Bowl.