South By Southwest Eco (SXSW Eco) Announces Initial Programming Slate for 2015 Conference

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Jun 02, 2015, 11:00 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, June 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SXSW Eco, a conference that celebrates the power of design, technology and business to drive global change, announces its first round of 2015 programming, including speakers Blaise Bertrand (IDEO), Suzy Amis Cameron (Muse), Ben Schiller (Fast Company), Alicia Garza (#BlackLivesMatter), Grace Kim (GOODcorps), Sachin Malhan (Ashoka Changemakers), Neil Katz (The Weather Company), Nancy Pfund (DBL Investors) and more. The first wave of announcements features over 25 dynamic panel sessions and collaborative programming formats such as one-on-one coaching, workshops and debates, designed to connect business leaders, innovators, investors and designers. SXSW Eco takes place October 5-7 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX.

Now in its fifth year, SXSW Eco features a diverse range of programming slotted into Business, CSR + Supply Chain, Energy + Water, Design and Policy programming tracks. In addition, Biomimicry Institute will host the Nature, Innovation and the Future of Design track and Bloomberg BNA will return with the Policy Action Series, featuring an array of industry experts to highlight valuable data and spark conversation about programs and policies.

Initial announced programming includes:

Corporate Social Responsibility + Supply Chain

Elevating Worker Voice in Supply Chains (International Labor Rights Forum, LexisNexis, U.S. State Department)
Eternal Electronics & Other Curiosities (Dell, Sprint)
How Space Can Fix Your Supply Chain (World Resources Institute, Orbital Insight)
3D Printing Human Tissues – Sci Fi Creation or the Next Big Thing for Brands? (Edelman)

Design

Designing Water: Creative Minds Rethink Resiliency (OMA, Natural Resources Defense Council, Rebuild By Design, StudioGang Architects)
Creating the Voting Experience of the Future (Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, IDEO)
O.N.E. Mile Detroit - Building Generative Cultural Infrastructure (Anya Sirota)
Urban Planning for Culture and Climate (HOK)
Encoding Empathy in Technology (Ashoka Changemakers)

Energy + Water

A.I. for Reliability and Safety in Energy (SparkCognition)
Tech is Teaching Old Energy Policy New Tricks (Opower)
#BlackLivesMatter in Advancing Energy Democracy (#BlackLivesMatter, NAACP, Green Door Initiative, BithGroup Technologies, Baltimore Center for Green Careers)
IoT Driving Game-Changing Energy Technologies (NextEnergy)
Build Your Own Open Source Water Treatment System (10 Bit Works, EnergyTorrent)

Business

VC & Clean Energy Startups: Unexamined Progress (Greenbanc Global, Stanford Global Projects Center, The Wesley Group, DBL Investors)
Money, Meteorology, Military & Climate Change (Divided Films, The Weather Company)
Climate Action: Now Meme'ified! (Purpose)

Policy

Making Energy Data Accessible and Interoperable (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
Renewable Energy & Policy Innovations (Bloomberg BNA Policy Action Series)
Water Scarcity: Challenges and Solutions (Bloomberg BNA Policy Action Series)
Re-Thinking the Supply Chain (Bloomberg BNA Policy Action Series)

Place By Design Competition

The Place by Design competition highlights transformations of the built environment for positive social & environmental impact. The application categories include: Urban Interventions, Innovative Architecture, Public Art, Tech, Disaster Response and Municipal Strategies. New for 2015, SXSW Eco is creating an incubator featuring workshops, bootcamps and networking sessions for designers, who will also be pitching their projects live to a panel of expert jurors. Applications are open through June 26.

Startup Showcase Competition

This year's SXSW Eco Startup Showcase competition is expanding to feature international companies in the following new categories: Energy, Building, Water, Global Health, Internet of Things + Smart Home, Social Impact, Space, Supply Chain + Product Innovation, Transportation, Reuse + Recycling, Seed Stage and Not-For-Profit. In the past three years, participating companies have gone on to receive funding totaling over $30M and acquire global brands as clients. Applications are open through June 26.

About SXSW Eco

SXSW Eco creates a space for business leaders, investors, innovators and designers to advance solutions that drive economic, environmental and social change. In its fifth year, the conference will feature collaborative events to facilitate direct connections, as well as focused panel sessions and exciting competitions that will introduce attendees to transformative products, technologies and ideas. Through provocative programming, strategic alliances and global participation, SXSW Eco supports the communities creating a positive impact. sxsweco.com

SXSW Eco 2015 is sponsored by Austin Energy, Austin Technology Incubator, Biomimicry Institute, Bloomberg BNA, City of Austin Resource Recovery, and Timberland.

Contact:

Brett Cannon
[email protected]
512-467-7979 x 456

SOURCE SXSW Eco