We’re proud to announce that Sustainable America has been chosen as the official Food & Waste Education Partner for the SXSW Eco 2013 conference. Along with exhibiting at the conference, which runs October 7-9, we will help SXSW Eco implement a composting program in order to help achieve a zero-waste event.
“We are thrilled to partner with SXSW to help them push the envelope to make their SXSW Eco conference more sustainable,” says Jeremy Kranowitz, executive director of Sustainable America. “The SXSW team already has lots of important pieces in place, and we will work to help all the pieces fit together, and to help them return the food waste back to the city to ensure its beneficial use.”
Sustainable America and SXSW will be working to capture almost all food waste at the Austin Convention Center and satellite venues, which will be composted and returned for use in city parks and gardens, as well as educate participants about food waste and composting.
Public events like conferences, concerts and festivals present a good opportunity to make a dent in the 40% of food that we waste in the United States and educate the public about the problem of food waste.
Kranowitz and Gray Peckham, Sustainable America’s director of investments, will also be participating in the conference’s programing as part of a business panel called Optimus PRI: Making Transformative Investments led by experts in Program-Related Investments. The panel will address the opportunities and challenges in making investments in early stage companies in sustainable energy and agriculture. Program-Related Investments (PRIs) are made to support charitable or socially positive activities that involve the potential return of capital within an established time frame. PRIs include financing methods commonly associated with banks or other private investors, such as loans, loan guarantees, and even equity investments in commercial ventures for charitable or socially positive purposes.
For more about SXSW’s commitment to sustainability, visit sxsweco.com/sxsw-sustainability.
