According to the B.C. Film Commission’s Web site, there were seven feature films and six TV series in production across the province at press time. Each production has multiple departments working together, from craft services to set design and costumes, to name just a few. Some Lower Mainland businesses are making it easier for each department to “green” its activities and reduce the environmental impact of each project as a whole.

André LaRivií¨re, executive director of the Green Table Network, says his company’s consultation service focuses primarily on greening the food-service industry, but lately he’s been receiving calls from people in the film industry curious about how they can do their part. It’s not an easy process for this business, he says on the phone with the Straight.

“If you’re going to green things, it’s hard to do it in little pieces. You’ve got to take a holistic view if you really want to make a significant impact.”¦You need to change ”˜business as usual’.” That process can become somewhat complicated when there are so many jurisdictions on each set, he adds. “It takes getting a lot of people onboard.”

The Green Table Network advises food-service providers on five areas: solid waste, energy conservation, water conservation, ecologically friendly cleaning chemicals, and purchasing.

Despite the logistical difficulties of becoming green, some of the more monolithic U.S. feature-film productions are trying to reduce their footprint on our province. Recently, when the new X-Files movie came to shoot in the Lower Mainland, writer-director Chris Carter praised Vancouver-based Coast Eco-Timber Inc. for making salvaged wood available for set construction.

“Anything that improves the environmental impact of our operations is worth doing,” Carter said in a news release.

On the line with the Straight, Alana Husby, president and cofounder of Coast, explains that her company is helping the environment by rescuing wood that might otherwise be wasted. “We salvage it from rivers, lakes and oceans, beachcombers, and old logging sites from the ’50s. It’s all old growth.”¦We’re not cutting down any fresh trees, which is great.”

Even the costumes you see actors wearing on the big screen can be made with an environmental conscience. Mission-based SYKA Textiles, a wholesaler and distributor, provides wardrobe designers with natural fabrics for film and television costumes.

SYKA co-owner Susan Gagnon explains by phone how her products make it to film sets. “It has to be a priority of the designer”¦then it also has to be supported by the budget.”¦And sometimes it comes from the actors and actresses.”

Since being environmentally friendly may sometimes also mean a higher price tag, these businesses rely on the initiative of each production that chooses to be green.

But LaRivií¨re remains optimistic about the future of the B.C. film industry. “I would expect that it will change. There’s just too much momentum behind these kinds of changes. It just makes too much business sense now.”