JADEN SMITH HOSTS THE EMA IMPACT SUMMIT.

The Environmental Media Association hosted the 2nd Annual Impact Summit presented by Toyota at the Montage Beverly Hills. The summit was hosted by EMA President & CEO Debbie Levin and Jaden Smith. The most influential minds gathered together to discuss sustainable solutions for the environment for innovation, corporate responsibility, green jobs and activism as a loudspeaker for solutions.

Alan Fuerstman, Founder and CEO of Montage Hotels & Resorts was honored with the EMA Green Seal of Hospitality. He said, “It starts with energy, waste diversion, procurement. There are efficient ways to operate and it’s an important part of our company’s philosophy that luxury and green sustainability can coexist.”

When asked what luxury means to him Alan said, “Luxury is how you are made to feel when you are at a certain environment. How did you connect with the staff? How was the food? How were you treated? That is what luxury is.”

This year’s Environmental Media Awards followed the IMPACT finale. Prior to the show, guests enjoyed a cocktail reception on the terrace of The Montage. Jenna Dewan was spotted buddying up with her pal Emmanuelle Chriqui.

The show opened with host Amber Valletta and special guest Pamela Adlon. Jaden Smith could be heard loudly cheering on his girlfriend, Odessa Adlon.

During the first award for children’s television, Francesca Eastwood announced her pregnancy with her mom, Frances Fisher, at her side.

Other notable attendees included: Jordanna Brewster, Madelaine Petsch, Lance Bass, Amy Smart, Carter Jenkins, Ed Begley Jr., Wendie Malick, Eric Christian Olsen, Sarah Olsen, Bill Nye, Perrey Reeves, Sarah Shahi, Adam Conover, and Constance Zimmer.

When asked about the future of supply chain, Patron & John Paul Mitchell Systems Founder John Paul Dejoria said, “The consumer wants to support companies that are sustainable. Along the way you are saving future generations and way of life.”

A true visionary, John Paul Dejoria began using recycled glass and paper in 1989 when he founded Patron.

“The best thing to do online is to go online and watch Good Fortune, the movie. It’s the story of Paul Mitchell and how Patron was started. It’s the story about how you can actually start with little or nothing. We started with sustainability with Paul Mitchell and at Patron we started with recyclable bottles and paper in 1989,” said Dejoria.

Ed Begley Jr. has been involved with EMAs since the 90s and has been an environmental activist since 1970. He explained, “I got involved in the first Earth Day. When I was in my 20s, I was tired on breathing all the smoggy air.”

“Van Jones was the hit of the conference. He spoke so eloquently and so emotionally about how we need to come together. We need to find common ground. My activism has been non-partisan from the beginning. My father who is a Republican never used the word Environmentalist but he was one. We were taught to turn off the lights. It’s just the way I had been raised. I got involved with activism to honor him.”

Actress Wendy Malik believes that there are so many brilliant people coming up with technical solutions but they can’t always articulate their messaging so its important for the EMAs to help them with communication.

Malik said, “My particular focus has always been with animals. Horses have been my thing that I’ve been trying to protect, the slaughter of horses.”

“I’ve been on the board 20 years now, came onboard when Debbie Levin took over. What kind of innovative solutions can help us restore the planet. I feel hopeful, enthused and it makes you want to go out and spread the word.”

Zack Lyman is a leading expert in distributed and decentralized systems architecture, Zach founded Zero-Base Energy in 2006 to create flexible, renewable energy, micro-grid solutions for those that exist beyond the traditional energy grid.

“We work with Just Water and Just Impact. We work on the intersection of emerging technology and social impact. We are flying tonight to Puerto Rico and looking at real estate to help with the resiliency of the next hurricane cycle. We look at what they have on the ground and what pencils from an economic standpoint,” said Lyman.

Another highlight of the impact summit was the Future Innovator of the Year Challenge. After hundreds of submissions, six finalists with ideas on how to solve the biggest problems facing the planet presented their plans. The judges were Jaden Smith (Co-Founder, JUST WATER) returns to the judging panel, along with David Margulies (CEO, New Pacific Realty), Drew FitzGerald (Co-Founder, JUST WATER), Rob Fishman (Co-Founder, Niche), Mike Sullivan (Owner, LAcarGUY), and Debbie Levin. The winner of the $50,000 prize was You Wu of Pipeguard Robotics, who developed a robot that can find leaks in city water pipes.