SPC Impact 2023: Austin

Mind Shift: Narrowing The Intention-Action Gap, Inclusion & Systems Change

SPC Impact 2023 is the flagship spring event from the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, a project of GreenBlue. The 2023 event program will include content on what it takes to enable a Mind Shift with the objective of narrowing the intention-action gap, its behavioral change implications and how these will address climate change from a brand, manufacturer, supplier, institutional and consumer level. The role of inclusion in designing inclusive packaging and inclusive products as well as the intersection of social and environmental pillars to enact systems change.

Tour, Cooking Class and Lunch | Wicked Kitchen
Wicked Kitchen is on a mission to unleash the mighty power of plants! Crave-able, flavor-first, sustainable foods that are better for you and the planet! Plant-based food for meat-eaters and vegans alike. SPC Impact attendees will get a chance to tour the Wicked Kitchen location at The Yard, hear more about their story and mission, and take in a cooking class led by Chef and Co-Founder of Wicked, Chad Sarno. Chef Sarno will discuss how mushrooms are the sustainable food of the future. Participants will get a hands-on demonstration of various techniques that transform mushrooms into meat by Chad and his team of chefs. Following the class, guests will sit down to enjoy a delicious plant-based lunch featuring local Hi-Fi Mycology mushrooms prepared from the class.

Tour | Latest Generation Amazon Robotics Sortable Building
SPC Impact attendees will get a chance to visit the 950k sq foot, latest generation Amazon Robotics Sortable building. Four wall-to-wall storage fields with over 100K storage pods serviced by over 5000 drive units. Generation 11 buildings differ from other Amazon buildings by adding a sortation field also serviced by drive units and robotic induction arms. Average OB shipments per day during Peak is 1,077,000.

Tour | Q2 Stadium, home of Major League Soccer Team Austin FC
SPC Impact attendees will get to experience this new Gold LEED certified soccer venue, home of the Austin FC Soccer Team. From Gensler’s state-of-the-art design down to the hand-painted concourse murals and everything in between, this tour provides guests a behind-the-scenes look at this soccer and entertainment venue. You’ll learn the history of the MLS’ 27th franchise and first major league team in Austin, TX. From the supporters’ stands to the locker room, you’ll see every inch of Q2 Stadium. Special thanks to SPC Member YETI who helped make this tour happen.

Tour | Fierce Whiskers Distillery Tour Presented by CarbonBetter
Fierce Whiskers is a grain-to-glass whiskey distillery producing soon-to-be-released bourbons, ryes, and single malts. Making world-class whiskey is not easy, and doing so sustainably adds another layer of complexity. Join Fierce Whiskers’ sustainability consultants, CarbonBetter, on a tour of their unique five-story bonded rickhouse specifically designed to harness the stubborn Texas climate and learn about energy efficiency measures taken across all operations at the distillery. After the tour, enjoy a cocktail while CarbonBetter and Fierce Whiskers conduct a short Q&A session about sustainability choices the distillery has made, trade-offs and considerations when making a water-intensive product, and what they learned bringing their limited-release carbon-negative bourbon, called Five O’Clock Shadow, to market.

Tour | Texas Disposal Systems
What if there was a better way to manage resources and be a waste service provider? Texas Disposal Systems processes more than 3,000 tons of solid waste daily, including trash, recycling and composting. Located just south of Austin, the Texas Disposal Systems (TDS) materials recovery facility (MRF) is more than 100,000 square feet in size and runs two sorting systems that processes 20 to 25 tons of material per hour, including glass, cardboard, paper, aluminum and plastic. This tour offers an up-close look at the company’s processing methodology and shows how the MRF fits into the wider 2,300-acre integrated waste-handling site operated by TDS. It is also home to the TDS Exotic Game Ranch, a facility that houses more than 115 species of animals as a living example of co-existence with a state-of-the-art, fully integrated landfill facility.

Tour | Organics by Gosh
SPC Impact 2023 attendees will get the chance to visit Organics By Gosh, a team of compost, soil and recycling enthusiasts leading the way into a promising future for organics. Through their Organics Recycling Program, continual commitment to compost made the smart way, and an emphasis on giving back to the community, they have plans to change the way people think about the ground they walk on and what they throw away. In 2012, the City of Austin sought out local partnerships to initiate its Curbside Composting Program. As a local compost company committed to delivering better products and better service to the City of Austin, Organics By Gosh answered the city’s call and was awarded the opportunity to assist the city with its goal of diverting compostable materials from landfills.

Tour | H-E-B at Mueller Store Tour
H-E-B at Mueller is an 83,600 square feet retail store and fresh food market, with a pharmacy, café, and community meeting space. Located in the Mueller neighborhood, this H-E-B location is a designated LEED® Gold certification and Austin Energy® Green Building 4-Star sustainability certification store. The building addresses retail stores’ unique energy challenges through an advanced refrigeration/cooling system, integrated daylighting, computer automated LED lighting, efficient equipment, and careful building design — resulting in an estimated 23% energy savings. It also features sustainably-sourced materials that protect occupant health by being low-emitting and free of harmful chemicals, preserve natural resources, and bolster the local economy. In addition, the site offers excellent connectivity, extensive bike parking, and electric car charging stations encouraging alternative transportation. Join us to see what it’s all about for yourself!

Tour | Break it Down Austin
Break it Down provides composting and recycling services for roughly 800 businesses in the greater ATX. Starting in our front yard in 2009, we have eschewed traditional industry operations such as rear load compactor trucks and windrow composting, and instead built a system that combines both a higher service quality for our customers as well as the ability to generate higher value-added end products from the material collected. By employing batch dehydration of containerized waste streams, we are making dog food (the conscious pet.life), fertilizers, and other products which are more valuable than the bulk compost amendments typically generated in an industrial compost operation.

Tour | Balcones Resources
Balcones Resources is the largest independent recycler in the Southern US. The company’s 100,000-square-foot flagship facility in Austin, Texas, processes between 12 and 15K tons of materials each month. Balcones believes the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) is the best classroom for recycling and environmental education. Join us to witness the range of technologies and separation strategies in use and learn more about our initiatives to increase sustainability efforts in our community. You’ll learn about how packaging is sorted for recycling, what makes packaging recyclable or not, and how the MRF fits into the larger supply chain that closes the loop on materials.

Evening Social | Banger’s Austin sponsored by Amcor
Hosted by Amcor, SPC Impact’s Evening Social at Banger’s Austin will be held on the beautiful Ground Floor Deck. With 200+ beers on tap, 20+ homemade sausages Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden offers one of the Lone Star state’s most creative plays on comfort food favorites and Southern style. So join us for gourmet sausages washed down with craft brews in this red cottage setting for networking with your fellow attendees.

Evening Social | Lazarus Brewing sponsored by TC Transcontinental
Hosted by TC Transcontinental, SPC Impact’s Evening Social at Lazarus Brewing will be held in the Cool Store cozy barrel room & open-air picnic patio. This bright blue brewery on East Sixth Street has a well-curated cozy living room vibe with comfortable couches, antique rugs and warm woods throughout, serving English, Irish, Belgian or American old world-style beer and some fantastic street Tex Mex food. Attendees will get a chance to network in a trendy, casual atmosphere at one of Austin’s most respected breweries.

Evening Social | Stubbs BBQ sponsored by Quad
Hosted by Quad, SPC Impact’s Evening Social at Stubb’s Bar-B-Q will be held in the Liberty Lunch EventSpace. Stubbs is a legendary music venue and a “must-see” spot. More than a famous barbecue joint, the venue’s namesake, C.B. Stubblefield, who opened his original Lubbock smokehouse in 1968. It was here that he first served his now world famous BBQ sauce.
So join us for a real Texas experience with mouthwatering, slow smoked, authentic Texas barbecue in an historic 1850’s limestone building.

Evening Social | The Brewtorium hosted by Brook + Whittle
Hosted by Brook & Whittle, SPC Impact’s Evening Social at The Brewtorium a new space in Austin to enjoy craft beers. The Brewtorium is a modern take on a German beer hall which is locally-owned and features award-winning house-brewed beer and modern pub cuisine. Brewtorium is a local favorite, so join us for the evening to connect with other attendees over a delicious in-house brew.

Evening Social | Still Austin sponsored by UPM Raflatac
Hosted by UPM Raflatac, SPC Impact’s Evening Social at Still Austin Whiskey Co. will be held in the Tasting Room & Garden Bar. Still Austin is proud to be one of the only distilleries in Texas to source grains from local farmers, distilled ecologically in-house, and aged right here in the Texas Hill Country. Using local ingredients allows the creativity and individuality of Texas to shine through every sip. So join us for this unique networking event & kick back with a whiskey cocktail.