May 8 2008
Bentley Meeker and his highly skilled design team are considered among the top special event lighting experts in the world.
Meeker has lit weddings and special events for the who's who of New York and Hollywood. He has lit every U.S. President since Ronald Reagan, Mayors Giuliani, Bloomberg, Dinkins and Koch and has created the environments for the weddings of such celebrities as Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Melissa Rivers, Eddie Murphy, Catherine Zeta Jones and Liza Minelli, just to name a few.
A recognized pioneer in the highly specialized art of lighting events, and an industry leader in the use of new technologies, Meeker is now poised to move the entire events industry toward becoming more environmentally responsible.
Bentley Meeker is the first lighting company in New York City to announce that it will be using renewable energy sources for all of its events. They will offer all of their clients a clean, renewable alternative to traditional coal generated electricity. Meeker has already begun by purchasing a year's supply of renewable energy credits also known as carbon offsets to help combat the harmful effects that fossil fuel generated electricity poses to the environment.
"I want to be the first to publicly acknowledge how wasteful the events industry can be," says Meeker of his new initiative, "For years I've struggled with what can be done, and indeed what I can do. We've been systematically using lower wattage bulbs and have fully embraced LED and wireless LED technology to reduce consumption. By purchasing renewable energy credits it is now possible for us to offset completely all of the considerable electricity we use on these events, by buying solar and wind power. I believe our renewable energy initiative is a huge step forward."
"With the use of renewable energy, it is now possible to create opulence without tipping into excess," adds Meeker.
"I am particularly pleased that there is now an effective way for all of us to help protect the air we breathe. Also, because of the profile of our clientele and what we do, it's my hope that our renewable energy initiative will raise consciousness about the use of non-fossil fuel based energy sources for all other related and even unrelated industries."
Meeker's corporate and celebrity clients will now not only enjoy spectacularly lit events as they always have, they will also be able to enjoy the fact that the electricity being provided for these events is being replaced on the national electricity grid with clean, carbon-free electricity generated by wind and solar power. While wind generated electricity costs more to produce, it has the added value of being 100% renewable, 100% sustainable, and completely free from environmental pollutants.
Meeker lights well over 40 events a month. He now offsets 100 percent of the electricity used with wind power. A dynamic businessman, artist and environmental advocate, Meeker is not only one of the event industry's biggest players, he's also one of its most trusted and respected voices. If there's an important event taking place in New York City, it's a pretty good bet that Bentley Meeker will be creating the environment.
Meeker credits Mayor Bloomberg's 2007 Green initiative for inspiring him to research new ways to discover how to move the lighting industry toward becoming part of the solution to the important issue of climate change.
"Mayor Bloomberg's foresight and commitment to the environment, despite the higher cost, was a big reason why I decided to launch my own environmentally conscious initiative for New York City's events industry," says Meeker.
"I know my colleagues well, and I really believe that everyone in our industry will follow suit."