Inaugural SXSW Eco Conference to Launch October 2011

A new addition to the SXSW Conferences and Festivals was announced yesterday with little fanfare; focusing on environmental issues, the SXSW Eco Conference is slated to occur October 4-6 of this year. The conference's goal is to gather experts across various fields in sustainability to openly discuss solutions for the environmental challenges faced throughout the country.

As with SXSW Interactive, a mix of panels, key-note speakers and core-conversations are planned over the course of three days. Session proposal submissions are currently being accepted through July 29. If you're interested in attending, the fee is $800 through July 29, and then goes up to $1000.

The Advisory Board for SXSW Eco is comprised of Robert Skinner, the Associate Director of the United Nations Foundation; Callum Grieve, the Global Director of Communications for The Climate Group; Melinda Taylor, the Executive Director of the Center for Global Energy, International Arbitration, and Environmental Law at the University of Texas School of Law; and Karl R. Rábago, the Vice President for Distributed Energy Services with Austin Energy; with more members to be added in the next month.

For more details, check out the SXSW Eco website.