Community Updates

ASU's Sustainability Solutions Festival challenges audiences to (re)imagine the world

TEMPE, Ariz – Dec. 3, 2014 – The eyes, ideas and imagination of the sustainability world will turn to Arizona in February as Arizona State University (ASU) hosts the second annual Sustainability Solutions Festival at venues across the greater Phoenix area.

Published 9 years ago | About a 4 minute read

Themed “(re)imagine your world,” the Sustainability Solutions Festival is convening a series of events from February 16-21 that are targeted at a wide variety of audiences, from families and the ASU community to film buffs and leaders of industry. Featured partners for the Festival are GreenBiz Group and The Sustainability Consortium, along with additional partners at the city of Phoenix, Arizona Science Center and the Arizona SciTech Festival.

ASU, the nation’s leader in sustainability education, is partnering with global leaders in sustainable business, consumer innovation, renewable energy, science and the arts for this weeklong celebration of sustainability solutions*.*

“Our charter states that ASU assumes fundamental responsibility for the economic, social and overall health of the community it serves. Hosting the Sustainability Solutions Festival to highlight innovative ideas and technologies is an example of our institutional commitment to our global community,” said ASU President Michael M. Crow.

The Sustainability Solutions Festival is a program within the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, a unit of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at ASU. Supported by a generous investment from the Rob and Melani Walton Fund of the Walton Family Foundation, the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives are designed to utilize the brightest minds in sustainability science and practice to develop scalable solutions to and provide practical education about sustainability challenges throughout the globe.

“We are delighted to welcome back to Arizona so many incredible thinkers, courageous business leaders, dedicated practitioners and distinguished scholars who are making substantial global impacts,” said Patricia Reiter, executive director of the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives. “Last year attendees showed us how to find a better way. This year, we are challenging them to reimagine those ideas and practices throughout the week’s engaging activities, events and meetings.”

Those interested in how sustainability affects the triple bottom line can attend the annual GreenBiz Forum (Feb. 17-19) at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, framed by the annual State of Green Business Report. Distinguished speakers include executives and sustainability officers from Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Target, Levi Strauss & Co. and The Sustainability Consortium. The ASU community can also participate by attending the Forum’s shadow conference, GreenBiz U, taking place on the Tempe campus.

"ASU’s Sustainability Solutions Festival has emerged as a can’t-miss annual event, an unparalleled assemblage of ideas, spirits and talent," said GreenBiz Group Chairman and Executive Editor Joel Makower. “We are proud that the GreenBiz Forum has become a key part of the festival. Our respective events complement each other and bring to all audiences — corporate, academic, community and others — a full picture of what it means to build a sustainable world."

Families and students can ponder their sustainability solutions at Family Day at the Arizona Science Center on Feb. 16. Film buffs and lifelong learners won’t want to miss the documentary screenings on Feb. 17 and 19. During the Sustainability Solutions Celebration at the Desert Botanical Garden on Feb. 18, sustainability leaders will recognize and congratulate young innovators. And on the last day at the Festival’s culminating event, the Sustival, everyone under the Valley’s sun will gather together to listen to local bands, enjoy local food and (re)imagine our shared impact on the world.

For more information about the Festival, visit sustainabilityfestival.asu.edu.

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The Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives are the result of an investment in Arizona State University’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability by the Walton Family Foundation. Within the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, diverse teams of faculty, students, entrepreneurs, researchers and innovators collaborate to deliver sustainability solutions throughout the globe, provide learning opportunities for future and current sustainability leader, and engage audiences of all ages to take action and celebrate sustainability solutions. For more information, visit sustainabilitysolutions.asu.edu.