Sustainability Efforts at SXSW

Greetings from Austin! I’m GreenWerk’s resident Social Media guy and I’m down here for the annual South by Southwest conference. I’ll be attending the interactive portion of SXSW, and while I’m down here taking in panels, networking events and parties, I’ll also be observing the green efforts of both the city of Austin and the conference as well.

Austin is definitely one of the most progressive cities in America for sustainability and green building, and South by Southwest seems to be following in the cities footsteps. The sustainability page on the SXSW site outlines the green efforts that are taking place this year. Nothing earth shattering, but it’s still nice to see the organizers actively promote sustainable practices related to the event. Large conferences like these have huge carbon footprints, so even small efforts can become powerful when scaled out over thousands of people.

Some of the green highlights include:

• Registration is entirely paperless
• Event publications and directories are printed on FSC paper
• Wide selection of bike rentals
• Pedicabs are frequent

In addition to the existing green choices, marketers were encouraged to be as mindful as possible about their impact for this event. Having materials printed in Austin and on FSC paper, making non-stop flights, renting Hybrid cars (if a car must be rented), using public transportation, even partnering with an event management company that focuses on creating environmentally friendly events.

On top of all this, Microsoft has partnered with TreeFolks, a “non-profit urban forestry organization whose mission is to grow and protect the urban forest of Austin and central Texas through tree planting, education and community partnerships.” Their combined efforts will help reforest the Balcones Canyonland Preserve. Microsoft will plant one tree for each SXSW attendee that opts to have a tree planted via a Microsoft survey.

Finally, even the hotel I’m staying at (Hyatt Regency Austin) is making efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. CFL bulbs can be found in every room, in all fixtures. In addition, linens and towels are only replaced when prompted by the guests.

Come back often as I provide updates from the conference this weekend.

You can check out my photos from the event on my Flickr page.

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