Hundreds of sustainability experts, authors, architects, environmentalists and urbanists this week are converging upon Eastman Business Park's Theater on the Ridge for the two-day Futures Summit presented by Sweetwater Energy.
A key aspect of Rochester's Greentopia festival celebrating sustainability – the Futures Summit is focusing on things like social responsibility, water and waste management, climate adaptation and transportation in the hope of fueling excitement and action toward making Rochester a greener, more eco-friendly community.
The keynote address was delivered by James Howard Kunstler, the author of The Geography of Nowhere, who discussed how “we created a landscape of scary places, and we became a nation of scary people."
With respect to sustainability, EBP itself is an excellent place to hold a conference on how Rochester may consider undergoing an ecological transformation. At one time the centerpiece of Kodak's powerful imaging empire, the Park is re-inventing itself too, repositioning much of its onsite infrastructure, expertise and equipment to support the commercialization of numerous clean technology products in the materials science space.
Some of the estimated 50 companies located within this unique innovation ecosystem are involved in the production of highly diverse specialty chemicals, thin films and medical materials, while others are focused on the deployment of next generation functional films, energy storage and bio-mass materials in the domestic product pipeline.
Cerion Energy, Novomer, Natcore Technology, Intrinsiqs, NY-BEST– the list of clean technology companies continues to grow.
These companies and the people they employ are creating change NOW through new visions, bold ideas and inventions, leapfrogging the status quo, changing a landscape of “scary places" and leading the way into a bright future.
We welcome and congratulate all the attendees of the Futures Summit for coming to Eastman Business Park, and hope that everyone benefits from this opportunity to share each other's knowledge and experience toward building sustainable communities and businesses.
Learn more about Greentopia and the Futures Summit presented by Sweetwater Energy.