Laying out a Blueprint for Green Businesses

After featuring political heavy-hitters (Mikhail Gorbachev and Vice President Al Gore) for its past two keynote speakers, the star-studded Environmental Media Awards is turning to a businessman this year.

Paul Hawken, founder of Smith & Hawken, will be the guest Thursday at the annual fund-raiser (tickets are $500 and up) at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. A green businessman in the best sense of the word, Hawken not only led his own company in environmental initiatives, he is the author of “The Ecology of Commerce,” (HarperCollins, 1993) widely praised as a visionary blueprint for the 21st Century.

“Paul believes that it is the business sector, not government and not individuals, who will lead us into a sustainable future,” said Andy Goodman, president of the Environmental Media Assn. “He’s a great speaker and I’m eager to unleash him to our audience.”

The choice of Hawken also symbolizes an expanded focus for EMA, formed in 1989 to encourage environmental themes in films, video and music productions. Now EMA is going behind the cameras and asking the entertainment world to produce shows in an environmental manner, Goodman said.

“It would be hypocritical to pump out environmental messages when you are using rain forest wood, virgin paper stock and trashing locations in the process,” he said. Taking the campaign to cyberspace, EMA has opened a clearing-house Internet site (https://epg.org), where, for instance, a TV producer looking for recycled paper can find it.

“We’re testing it right now and will be promoting it in an ad campaign,” Goodman said. And in the meantime, they’ll hand out awards in 10 categories to producers who helped get the eco-word out last season.

Dinner information: (310) 559-9334.