Have you ever considered the most eco-friendly way to watch films? There’s something about the brick-and-mortar cinema experience we all seem to love. Despite the fact that cinema-going was hit hard by the video industry mid-1980s, it has bounced back in the 21st century in an impressive way.
Cinema owners have managed to re-market themselves even bigger than ever, in the face of streaming, YouTube and on demand movies. Marketing Gold Class glam for romance & uptown style, new release launches or simply reigniting the movie escape - two or three hours away from the everyday, to be transported to another world, enveloped in darkness, with some comfort food thrown in. And with any of that, there’s a human energy in a theatre, especially when you are experiencing something new with a group of people that’s palpable. On the other hand, have you ever found yourself the only patron or one of a few in a movie session? For the hermits, socially awkward and introverts out there, it's probably social nirvana. But if you couldn't quite reconcile your good fortune with good behaviour, there is a very good reason. That’s your inner eco-consumer voice talking to you, because you know, deep down, that all that energy involved in sitting in that swanky air-conditioned cinema, watching that huge pixelated screen and surviving the deafening surround sound is an obscene waste of energy for just one person - or even for a few.
The facts are that there’s a critical mass of patrons required before a theatre is profitable, and some very smart number cruncher has figured it's about 29 bums on seats to break even on the cost of building and powering the cinema, running the projection and audio systems and paying employees. Of course that number will vary greatly wherever you go in the world, but the point is, cinemas are commercial enterprises. And this is one commercial point that emissions and resource consumption agrees with commerce. A packed cinema is a good cinema. Because the more people those resources are amortised across, the better.
A huge energy pull in cinemas comes from heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. I am afraid if you are sitting indoors, a HVAC system will be working overtime to maintain your comfort. There’s not much getting around that – it’s the nature of the beast. Factor in the energy used by transport to get patrons to and from a theatre, and you’ve significantly added to your movie-viewing carbon footprint.
With cinemas, as with any large piece of infrastructure, eco-friendliness sits along a spectrum. It’s not an “all of nothing” scenario. Small approaches might be invisible to the movie patron, but doesn’t mean they aren’t there. You may not have noticed the banks of solar panels on top of your multiplex cinema when you parked, or walked from the train station, that day. Although, if you went for rooftop parking, you might have noticed their absence. More shopping centres, where cineplexs are generally located, are going solar in a big way so do your research and support the ones who are. If your cinema of choice is in a shopping complex, management have more businesses to consider than independent, stand alone cinemas, so they can mitigate the cost of renewable energy infrastructure through the economy of scale of having multiple tenants. Stand alone cinemas need to buy solar infrastructure as part of their capital investment. So supporting smaller privately owned cinemas may also help them get over the line with this investment. Again, knowing the state of play of your local movie theatres is probably the best knowledge you can have as an eco-consumer.
Energy efficient LED lighting is pretty obvious to the moviegoer, but whether the cinema is a green building built with green materials, low/no-VOC paints and finishes, and various energy- and water-conserving techniques is less obvious. Again, so much about the cinema experience isn’t transparent to the eco-consumer.
It's no secret that there is nothing eco, healthy, or cheap about cinema Candy Bars. Not a single redeeming feature - unhealthy processed food with a huge carbon footprint, a ridiculous amount of excess packaging and exorbitant prices. Anyone who stays long enough after the movie ends, the credits have rolled and the house lights come up, will see that that most of the Candy Bar deposited on the cinema floor. If there are bins for recyclables, great. But if General Waste bins are your only option you can bet no one is rummaging through your rubbish somewhere out back and sorting the recyclables. Here’s the kick. As bad as we know they are, we humans love snacking while we watch. And unless you are sneaking in contraband (Millenials we are looking at you.) and as long as movie tickets are sold across the same counter as food, bad-for-the-planet snacks will be a part of the movie going experience. For the record, we are in no way recommending you sneak in contraband, even as this ed has been known to do so. And all her friends. And no cats. Even under heavy rockstar disguise.
So, there are the energy components of movie-going briefly outlined. But if you think streaming your movies straight onto your device is better, think again. That is a whole other story, one that could deliver a King Kong sized personal carbon footprint you have no idea you were creating.
Go old school (which is a bit new school right now). There are so many outdoor film screenings with the latest films in locations right across Australia. Enjoy being outdoors, bring your own food, sit on the ground, relax and live larger. To help offset the energy used to power the cinema, find a theatre using solar energy. Don’t eat from the Candy Bar. Just don’t do it. We understand this is almost impossible, but we still feel obliged to say it.
Images: roadtovr.com Unsplash | Alex Holyoake / Zhifei Zhou / Fancy Crave / Scott Webb / Raw Pixel