On Message

Global Green U.S.A.'s pre-Oscar bash isn't an award-season party in the traditional sense—it doesn't celebrate Hollywood. Instead, Hollywood celebrates Global Green: Paparazzi shots of eco-minded actors including Tate Donovan arriving at the party on bicycles are pure gold for the group. The media swarming around L.A. this time of year made the fifth annual bash at the Avalon Hollywood the year's highest-profile event for the Santa Monica-based group, and the medium is definitely the message.

Event producer Beau Robb of Treehouse and Global Green U.S.A. C.E.O. Matt Petersen and director of PR Ruben Aronin focused on one cohesive message this year, rather than the multiple messages of green-product purveyors who had participated in previous years. “Time to Act—Reduce Your Carbon Footprint” was emblazoned on posters that flanked the entrance as well as on flat-screen TVs and the backdrop of the stage, the focus of performances by Michelle Branch, Damien Rice, Michael Franti, and Oscar-nominated songwriters Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard from the film Once. The party's sustainable decor was a key element of the message as well. Indeed, this is the rare event where organizers want everyone to know exactly what went into the decor. A room off the lobby lounge housed a display detailing the party design materials and inspirations.

As the evening's 800 guests entered the lobby lounge, they encountered vignettes from the green design showcase assembled by four designers: Daniel Vandenbark from Vernare, Elizabeth Zampolli from Cisco Home, Kelly Van Patter from Van Patter Design, and Alegre Ramos from Green and Greener. The first was “the enchanted forest," a thicket of bare branches dangling energy-efficient lighting fixtures (compact fluorescent bulbs encased in recycled-plastic shades) with recycled glass mulch at their base. Nearby was a living room assembled from Cisco Brothers Furniture's sustainable collection. Upstairs, the designers assembled a V.I.P. lounge using sustainable teak couches and chairs from Maku Furniture set on AGL Grass, synthetic grass made from recycled material, which also covered a bench and a seat. Carpet made from recycled plastic bottles covered another lounge that offered plush Cisco couches.

The event started five years ago as a rock show for Global Green's friends, which was intimate enough that organizers called it “a friend-raiser.” This year the party raised $420,000 for a green building project in New Orleans, which was showcased in a photo display next to the lobby lounge. “It's gotten bigger and better and more notoriety,” said Monica Gilchrist, Global Green's national resource center coordinator. “Each year we get more press and higher-level folks involved. It's a very exciting evolution.”

Correction: This story has been updated from its original form to correctly identify the type of synthetic grass used in the V.I.P. lounge and the spelling of the producer's name.