ARTICLE
Golden Village To Go Beyond The Earth Hour
By InCinemas / 26 Mar 2011 (Saturday)
GV Yishun awarded Green Mark Gold Award. Golden Village goes beyond the hour with launch of Green Agenda and appointment of first green ambassador.
Singapore, 26th March 2011 – Golden Village Multiplex reaffirmed its commitment to combating climate change tonight during its Earth Hour 2011 efforts by announcing its green agenda for the rest of the year and the appointment of their first green ambassador. This is in response to Earth Hour’s call for participants to go "beyond the hour".
It started at GV Yishun, Asia’s first eco-friendly multiplex, where it honored Earth Hour by rescheduling the evening’s movie sessions to end before 8.30pm and resuming the next movie sessions only after 9.30pm. This was the first year that GV Yishun had participated in Earth Hour, and it showed how the green cinema is serious about bringing sustainability efforts to the Singapore heartlands where it really matters. GV Plaza and Bishan also participated in the Earth Hour by switching off non-essential lights in the foyer.
During this hour, cinema patrons at GV Yishun were treated to a candlelit picnic under the stars where they learnt about GV Yishun’s existing green initiatives, while being entertained by the homegrown music group, Butteribs, of SUPERBAND 2008 fame. In addition, patrons were educated on the simple actions they could take to reduce their carbon footprint through a special trivia segment incorporated into the evening’s programme.
That was, however, not the only thing that Golden Village is doing for the green movement.
On top of Earth Hour 2011, Singapore’s leading cinema chain also announced that GV Yishun has been awarded the Green Mark Gold Award. This is a first and highest award ever awarded to a cinema exhibitor by the Building & Construction Authority (BCA). The BCA Green Mark Scheme is an initiative designed to promote sustainability in the built environment and raise environmental awareness among developers, designers and builders in the pre and post-construction phases.
Prior to and since reopening its door to the public following a major renovation in November 2010, GV Yishun has been actively undergoing several green audit checks with BCA. The multiplex’s energy saving installations and measures — including the adoption of a mobile ticketing service, the use of electronic posters, motion sensor lightings, LED lights and energy-efficient ?self-cooling? airconditioning
systems — have resulted in approximately 30 to 50% energy saving for GV Yishun.
To demonstrate its commitment to the pro-environment cause and in anticipation of the annual Earth Day, Golden Village also unveiled today its first Golden Village Green Ambassador and kickstarted a series of green activities for 2011. The first is a two-week long recycling campaign beginning on 22nd April, to be led by its new ambassador, Lee Meng Hon, 14, who was appointed in recognition and appreciation of his outstanding green efforts.
Shortly after the reopening of GV Yishun as Asia’s first green cinema, Meng Hon, a secondary three student from Punggol Secondary School, submitted a passionate project to Golden Village in the form of a short film, "Go Green, Stay Green", advocating a strong message along with some valuable green measures that the cinema chain could adopt in their daily operations within the GV cinemas. Golden Village was so impressed by Meng Hon’s initiative and exemplary contributions that it has started screening his video at all GV cinemas’ plasma screens located island-wide, in the
hope that it will further motivate more patrons to go green.
As the Green Ambassador, Meng Hon’s primary role will be aiding Golden Village in spreading the green message, fostering a culture of environmental responsibility among patrons, and inspiring the youths to become more environmentally-friendly.
Here is an overview of Golden Village’s green activities for the year:
| Green Activity | Date |
| Recycle @ GV Yishun | 22 April |
| Cinema ?Clean up Day | Month of September |
| Cash for Trash @ GV Yishun | Month of November |
GV Yishun 1st Green Anniversary: Go Green
Film Festival | 3 November |
In announcing Golden Village’s green agenda, Mr David Glass, Managing Director of Golden Village Multiplex said, "Looking at the array of activities we have lined up, we hope that Golden Village can lead and inspire a civic and social movement that will motivate the general public and the cinema industry to improve the health and stewardship of our city. I hope that Golden Village’s green efforts will serve as a model for other cities around the world."