SXSWORLD

SXSW Eco Doubles Sessions, Adds Startup Competition for October's Conference by Patrick Nichols S spread to a truly global audience, thanks to the active #sxsweco hashtag on Twitter and live blogging from the likes of Th e Nature Conservancy, Time.com's Ecocentric, Th e Huffi ngton Post, Discovery Communications' Treehugger and Care2. Conservation International's Donnell more than 1,200 attendees representing the public and private sectors as well as aca- demia. SXSW Eco proved a strong draw well outside its Texas home base, with attendees traveling from 33 states and seven countries. Conversations that started in Austin fall as SXSW Eco launches its second annual conference. With a mission to examine challenges facing our economy, environment and society, SXSW Eco takes place October 3-5 at the AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center in Austin. Th e inaugural event in October 2011 drew ustainability again takes center stage this clean technology solutions before a panel of judges and a live audience. Fifteen teams will present in the fi rst round, with three fi nal- ists invited to deliver lengthier pitches in the afternoon and the winner crowned at an eve- ning awards ceremony. "It's a venture capital competition, essen- tially," said SXSW Eco Director Scott Wilcox. "Th e award we'll hand out is solely a prestige award, but we hope that by showcasing so much outstanding talent, these startups can gain valuable exposure and connect with the venture capitalists in attendance." More than a dozen venture capitalists attended last year, with even more expected this fall. Such a connection could help boost a Solutions that Scale; Th e Social Sphere: Activating Cultures and Institutions; Engineering Advancement: Technology and Design; People, Planet, Profi t: Economies that Work; and A Better Future: Vision and Opportunity. Organizers anticipate sessions will cover a broad range of sustainability topics, including food, climate change, eco- oriented design and the event's cornerstones of ecology and economics. Th ere is still time to join the session lineup. Th e SXSW Eco Ocker Roy found SXSW Eco 2011 to be an event unlike any other. "Th is was not your typical international conference; in true SXSW spirit, the tone was feisty, animated and leaned more towards counterculture," she blogged after the conference concluded. "Th e dress code may have been jeans and shorts, but the solutions and the dialogue were revolutionary." SXSW Eco 2012 is shaping up to be bigger and better in its second edition. Th e number of sessions is doubling from 53 to more than 100 this fall. Likewise, more than 300 diverse thought leaders will help shape the conference dialogue, again twice the number that participated in 2011. Sessions will revolve around fi ve major themes: Replicating Success: Annie Leonard, the creator of the acclaimed The Story of Stuff project, will be the keynote speaker on October 5. PanelPicker is accepting proposals through June 1, with public voting commencing June 11. To submit a proposal this spring or cast your votes this summer, visit panelpicker.sxsweco.com. While cooperation is key to advancing many sustainability initiatives, a new event will lend a competitive edge to this year's conference. Th e SXSW Eco Startup Showcase, presented by Austin Technology Clean Energy Incubator and Austin Energy, will feature teams presenting 48 SXSW ORLD / M AY 2012 October 4, and includes an opening night participants' reception in addition to the post-event awards ceremony. Startups wishing to join the competition have until July 6 to submit their entries. Semi-fi nalists will be announced on August 13. For more details or to submit your startup, visit sxsweco.com/startup. ■ To register or learn more about the for SXSW 2012 Eco conference, visit sxsweco.com. cutting-edge technologies in competition during SXSW Interactive since 2009 and during SXSW Music for the last two years. Th e clean technology theme is a natural fi t given the growing global focus on sustainability plus the abundance of green-thinking energy companies around Austin. Wilcox called the two local presenting sponsors "ideal partners with a long history of fostering green tech innovation." Th e Startup Showcase takes place on the conference's second day, interesting business element to the confer- ence," added Wilcox. "SXSW Eco is focused on providing real solutions for a sustain- able world, and our hope is to help startups gain exposure and make the connections to someday bring their solutions to market." Th e idea for the Startup Showcase grew out of the SXSW Accelerator, which has pitted startup from an unknown to a viable entity in a crowded fi eld. Clean technology fi rms added 70,000 jobs in the U.S. from 2007 to 2010, according to an April report from the Brookings Institution. Yet the federal stim- ulus money that helped the industry expand even during a time of recession is beginning to disappear, with an estimated 75 percent of federal investment projected to run out by 2014. Th is makes private investment all the more critical to building and sustaining competitive solutions. Venture capital will be key to the ongoing development of new clean technologies. "Th e Startup Showcase adds a strong and CHRISTY MCDONALD

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