A new kind of SXSW: Eco

AUSTIN (KXAN) - South By Southwest launched a new kind of conference this week in Austin: SXSW Eco . It is a three-day concentration focused on a cross-sector approach to solving recognized sustainability and environmental challenges.

SXSW organizers said they hope the inaugural conference will spur discussions toward sustainability solutions by “making progress for society, the economy and the environment.”

The three-day schedule features open panel discussions and sessions with environmental leaders, professionals and government officials from around the nation.

A three-member panel on Wednesday discussed how cities can better prepare and embrace environmentally sustainable policies. The panel -- Life in the Big City: Unlocking Smart Development -- featured Jeff Smith with IBM, Robin Rather of Austin’s Collective Strength Inc. and Melanie Nutter of the San Francisco Department of Environment.

Nutter said that San Francisco is the greenest city in America partly because her group has been working with city leaders over the past decade with a goal to become a Zero Waste city by 2020.

The city of San Francisco’s recycling program began as a voluntary effort and after passing a mandatory law, the city now recycles 70 percent of its waste into compost.

San Francisco’s building code is responsible for construction projects recycling 65 percent of waste. Nutter said by 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas, making it vital for governments to enact climate-sensitive laws.

Standardizing challenges cities face is a key element to what Nutter sees as a success for San Francisco, which is a C40 member city.

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is a network of large and engaged cities from around the world committed to implementing meaningful and sustainable climate-related actions locally that will help address climate change globally. The group was created in 2005 by a former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who forged a partnership in 2006 with President Bill Clinton’s Climate Initiative Cities Program to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency in large cities across the world.

“Greenhouse gas emissions reductions needed to avoid dangerous climate change will depend on decisions taken at the sub-national level,” said Nutter. “If we’re going to tackle climate change, it’s going to have to start in our cities.”

The C40 network provides a network for cites in need, they host conferences on global environmental issues, they provide advocacy help, technical expertise and have a global field staff and research group.

The group has helped San Francisco plan for a possible mid-century increase in sea levels. C40 has been working with city leaders and planners, focusing on mitigation and planning, setting goals then working on policies and reducing carbon emissions by 20 percent. The group says technology and innovation along with financial incentives have been critical to the city’s success.

The panel said technologies and energy efficiency solutions exist. Nutter, Smith and Rather said innovative policies cities initiate could serve as blueprints for national and international policy.

Rather says too much focus is placed on cities but we should also be reaching out to suburban and rural communities like Baltimore, New Orleans, Tulsa and Detroit.

She said there is too much focus on the climate but we should also be addressing the recovery of our economy and new technologies.

“Sustainability, smart growth and livability are misunderstood, it’s simple,” said Rather. “A sustainable community is an urban, suburb or rural community with more energy independence, with more clean air and water, and a life closer to schools and work.”

“Economic revitalization and recovery are key," Rather said.

She also said lawmakers who represent rural areas aren’t doing enough and it’s equivalent to political suicide.

Smith said utility companies have a role to play alongside customers in planning for the future. He said electric providers should be thinking about new generation methods to address increased demand.

“There have been very few new investments in generating new energy for the past 50 years,” said Smith. "There are great ways to execute a plan but it will take saving money to invest in future infrastructure. The payoff could be huge, by making an optimized dynamic network."

Smith said future planning should help both energy providers and customer along with government entities.

“Companies have to get involvement, from citizens and policy makers. We need to figure out how to affect leadership change,” Smith said. “China has horrible air quality. We should use that as an example of what could happen to us.

The SXSW Eco conference concludes Thursday.