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NBC Universal's 'Green Is Universal' Initiative Includes More
Than 150 Hours of Green-Themed Content
Ongoing Plans to
Create Cleaner Operations Worldwide
Funding Awarded to
Environmentally-Focused Organizations
NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2007
/PRNewswire/ -- NBC Universal announced details for more than
150 hours of environmentally themed content encompassing all
of NBCU's divisions across multiple platforms for the week of
Nov. 4 - 10. Additionally, the company took further steps to
green its own operations worldwide, and for the first time,
will award funds from the NBC Universal Foundation to three
environmentally-focused organizations. The announcements, part
of NBC Universal's ongoing "Green Is Universal" initiative,
were made by Jeff Zucker, President and CEO, NBC Universal and
Lauren Zalaznick, Chairman, NBC Universal Green Council and
President, Bravo Media.
"The environment has become
both a corporate and cultural issue," said Zucker. "As a
leading media and entertainment company, NBC Universal has a
responsibility, both in our own operations and in driving
awareness. Green is good for the world and the bottom line."
"Starting with this launch
week of programming, the ongoing 'Green Is Universal'
initiative will help reach hundreds of millions of NBCU's
consumers, raising awareness, entertaining and ultimately,
driving results," said Zalaznick. "This week reinforces NBCU's
continued commitment to help raise environmental awareness
through what we do in front of the cameras and behind the
scenes, in our offices, and in how we interact with the
community."
Separate related
announcements are being made today by NBC Entertainment, NBC
Universal Entertainment Cable, the Sundance Channel, Universal
Parks and the Telemundo Network. Highlights of the company's
efforts are listed below.
NBC Universal's corporate
commitment to green its own operations worldwide continues to
grow with its recently announced creation of a new West Coast
News Headquarters and Content Center. The Center will be a
leading example of sustainable design, construction and
transit-oriented development under the U.S. Green Building
Council's LEED(R) rating system. NBC Universal will seek LEED
Silver certification for new construction for the Center and
will target LEED for existing buildings for its ongoing
operations. Completed in May 2007, the Universal Studios lot
installed its first solar energy system, the largest in the
industry. Located on approximately 2.5 acres of hillside
property, NBC Universal's long-term goal is to secure an
increasing portion of its power from solar or wind generators.
In 2007, a different car
service was introduced in New York, resulting in a 75 percent
air pollution improvement over the old service and will be
further improved by yearend when 25 percent of the fleet is
replaced by Hybrid vehicles. Additionally, NBC Universal is in
the process of deploying multi- functional office machines to
enable employees to scan and e-mail documents, thus
eliminating the need for multiple devices and reducing paper
use.
NBC Universal's office
supplier now provides paper with 34 percent recycled content.
This equates to 145,000 gallons of water saved, 400 trees
saved and 81,000 KWH conserved, or the equivalent of providing
electricity to seven homes a year.
NBC Universal has been
measuring greenhouse gas emissions since 2004 and in the
coming months, the company has committed to conducting Energy
Conservation Surveys ("eco audit") that will identify and
prioritize additional internal environmental improvements. The
company will work with GreenOrder, a sustainability strategy
firm to provide an independent, quantitative analysis and
verification of its environmental footprint.
Separately, the NBC Universal
Foundation, which supports non-profit organizations that
concentrate on strengthening public secondary education, has
selected one national and two local environmentally-focused
organizations to receive grants to promote environmental
education and help employees get directly engaged in
environmental efforts in their communities. They are the
Student Conservation Association (www.thesca.org); New York
Restoration Project (www.nyrp.org) and the Los Angeles
Conservation Corps (www.lacorps.org).
"The More You Know," NBC
Universal's award-winning public service campaign, will debut
brand new environmentally-themed spots to be broadcast across
all platforms. The messages will focus on global warming,
pollution and recycling as well as provide viewers with ways
to make a difference. Participating NBCU talent include: Molly
Sims, Josh Duhamel and James Lesure ("Las Vegas"); Noah Gray-Cabey
("Heroes"); Christopher Meloni ("Law & Order: SVU"); Ann Curry
("Today"); Jesse Martin and Jeremy Sisto ("Law & Order");
Linda Cardellini ("ER"); Donald Faison ("Scrubs"); Tim Gunn
("Project Runway" and "Guide To Style," Bravo); Jeffrey
Donovan ("Burn Notice," USA); Tricia Helfer ("Battlestar
Galactica," Sci-Fi); Maria Celeste ("Al Rojo Vivo con
Celeste," Telemundo).
The company will launch a
digital home for NBC Universal's "Green Is Universal"
initiative -- www.GreenIsUniversal.com -- to bring an
environmental perspective to its networks, platforms,
audiences and communities. Kicking-off on Nov. 4 with seven
days of environmentally-themed programming,
GreenIsUniversal.com will live on with green tips, green
clips, and a fast- paced blog covering everything at NBC
Universal, and beyond.
Highlights of the company's
150 hours of green-themed content for the week of Nov. 4-10
include:
NBC Sports kicks-off "Green
Is Universal" on Nov. 4 during the "Sunday Night Football"
game between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. NBC's
"Football Night in America" host Bob Costas will explain the
programming effort on NBC during the NFL studio show as NBC
Universal's networks simultaneously turn their respective
network logos green at 8 p.m. ET. The broadcast also will
feature additional announcements about "Green Is Universal,"
as well as incorporate the themes throughout its broadcast on
Sunday night.
The following Saturday, Nov.
10, the Air Force vs. Notre Dame college football game will
feature the University of Notre Dame's students' and
professors' research for capturing carbon dioxide (CO2), from
the emissions of power plants, which could ultimately
contribute to reversing the effects of global warming.
Highlighted by the "Today"
show's "Ends of the Earth" trip (see separate release), NBC
News will dedicate programming across many of its platforms as
part of the Initiative. "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams"
will feature a five-part green series -- dedicating each night
to a single topic: water, wind, grass, bio-fuels, nuclear, and
how to "green your house." NBC News' Environmental
Correspondent, Anne Thompson, will contribute to this series.
MSNBC will broadcast
green-themed segments and programming all week, including an
emphasis on the politics of Green on "Super Tuesday," Nov. 6.
Throughout the week, the channel's "best and worst weather in
America" segments will focus on how environmental changes
affect weather.
MSNBC.com will kick off its
green series with special stories and interactive features,
including user-generated content showing what it's like to be
green in America. The FirstPerson eco-gallery will feature
videos and photos from consumers across the nation
illustrating what they're doing to help the environment.
MSNBC.com will also feature interactive slideshows, original
stories, and video on a range of environmental issues.
MSNBC.com's interactive
features include "Warming World," a gateway into compelling
video, slideshows and stories about climate change around the
world. Consumers can also log on and learn about carbon
trading, see how the greenhouse effect happens, discover
interesting engineering ideas to cool the Earth, check out the
greenest and meanest cars, and find out about new and
environmentally-friendly commuting options.
CNBC, First in Business
Worldwide, will focus on investing opportunities in the
rapidly expanding and dynamic green movement covering what
Wall Street, venture capital firms and corporations are doing
in such areas as clean technology, alternative energy, and
sustainability, providing information for investors. In
addition, CNBC will have "conversations" with CEOs of top
companies that are making a business in the green space; large
investors; environmental trailblazers in both the private and
government sectors; economic experts, as well as those who
question the business value of green. On Nov. 7, CNBC will
report from the Pacific Growth Equities 2007 Clean Technology
& Industrial Growth Conference in San Francisco; on Nov. 8,
CNBC's housing reporter Diana Olick will report from Chicago
and the Green Build Conference and Expo. That night, the
network will broadcast a special green edition of CNBC's "The
Big Idea with Donny Deutsch" at 10 p.m. ET.
From the first and largest
community of women online, iVillage's iGo Green channel (www.ivillage.com/green)
helps moms make the green lifestyle work for them by featuring
a wide variety and depth of green content, from organic
Thanksgiving ideas to eco-friendly gifts. In addition,
iVillage's gURL.com will feature a recycling game and
Astrology.com will feature Green Scopes. Every day, new green
content will be featured both on iVillage.com's main page and
on its iGo Green channel, including opportunities to give
green within iVillage Cares, with click-to-donate links for a
variety of causes.
On November 1, iVillage.com
will launch the iVillage Forest, (www.ivillageforest.com), a
virtual wintertime forest where visitors can help offset the
32 million trees that are cut down each December for holiday
decorating. For each $5 donation, a virtual tree is planted in
the iVillage Forest and a live tree is planted by The
Conservation Fund (www.conservationfund.org).
The NBC Owned-and-Operated
Stations will incorporate extensive environmentally- themed
stories throughout their newscasts and display green logos and
graphics on air. In addition, the group will run a half-hour
special on "Going Green at Any Age!" (check local listings).
The stations' Going Green websites will also have a green
theme and will provide calculators that can determine an
individual's impact on the earth according to carbon, water
and energy use. Users can also download widgets to get
regional and national environmental news as well as the latest
local headlines sent to their desktops. Many of the stations
will also continue to partner with local organizations to
promote green awareness in their communities.
NBC Universal Domestic
Television Distribution's "Access Hollywood" will report on
Hollywood celebrities making an environmental difference, with
additional green interviews posted online at (www.accesshollywood.com).
On the Nov. 6 edition of "The Martha Stewart Show," (check
local listings) naturalist, media personality and author David
Mizejewski of the National Wildlife Federation, joins Stewart
with several creepy-crawly friends to help educate her viewers
on the growing importance of involving children in green
activities and encouraging them to spend more time outdoors.
"Lyons and Bailes Reel Talk" will highlight Al Gore's
Oscar-winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth" on the
November 10-11 episodes. Additionally, "The Jerry Springer
Show," "Maury," "The Steve Wilkos Show," "The Chris Matthews
Show," "The Wall Street Journal Report with Maria Bartiromo,"
"Your Total Health" and "Lyons & Bailes" are all participating
in the effort.
Universal Pictures will
prominently promote "Green Is Universal" on
www.universalpictures.com with a lead editorial placement and
banner at the bottom of the page. Universal Pictures also will
send its more than 400,000 newsletter subscribers information
on the "Green Is Universal" initiative, and GetOnBoardNow.org
will be updated with current content. Universal Pictures will
run the "Green Is Universal" PSA's as a post-roll on their
online trailers during this programming week and as ads in
theater lobbies.
About NBC Universal
NBC Universal is one of the
world's leading media and entertainment companies in the
development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news,
and information to a global audience. Formed in May, 2004
through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal
Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable
portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion
picture company, significant television production operations,
a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme
parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and 20%
owned by Vivendi.
Source: NBC Universal
CONTACT: Cameron Blanchard,
+1-212-664-7202,
Cameron.Blanchard@nbcuni.com, or Kathy Kelly-Brown,
+1-212-664-3457,
Kathy.Kelly-brown@nbcuni.com, both of NBC Universal
Web site:
http://www.nbcuni.com/
http://www.nyrp.org/
http://www.ivillage.com/green
http://www.greenisuniversal.com/
http://www.universalpictures.com/ |