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Sustainable Brands '09 Launches Sustainable Venture Exchange Award

Sustainable Brands '09 Launches Sustainable Venture Exchange Award

Published 04-30-09

Submitted by Sustainable Life Media, Inc.

BURLINGAME, Calif., April 30, 2009 - Sustainable Brands today announced its search for the most inventive environmental and social entrepreneurs to highlight at Sustainable Brands 09 (SB09), which takes place May 31 - June 3 in Monterey, Calif. Eight startups will be selected to participate in the Venture Exchange, and will receive an opportunity to pitch at an evening event to a group of green/social investors, executives in leading companies, top brand consultants and peers.

In addition to free attendance, the selected start-ups will be able to exhibit their products and services at the four-day conference. Ultimately, the winning company will receive significant visibility, strategic support and recognition from this like-minded community.

Sustainable Brands will review applications from companies launched after January 1, 2008 and with fewer than 15 full-time employees that have a sustainability (environmental or socially innovative) focus. The eight chosen companies will be selected within two tracks: (1) ventures that are trying to build a sustainable consumer brand, and (2) ventures that offer solutions to large companies to help them improve their sustainability story.

"The Venture Exchange is directly tied to our mission of inspiring, equipping and engaging sustainability innovation," said KoAnn Vikoren Skrzyniarz, CEO of Sustainable Life Media. "The Venture Exchange program gives eight emerging companies a platform to showcase their invention and build a network of supporters that can accelerate their route to market."

A team of judges will review each submission and make selections based upon the commitment to sustainability and growth potential. The 2009 judges are Boyd Cohn, Ph.D, Entrepreneurship, Founder, President 3rd Whale Media, Jonathan Greenblatt, co-founder, Ethos Water, Former Vice President, Starbucks, J. Paul Herman, Founder, President HIP Investor, Annie Longsworth, Sustainability Practice Leader, Cohn & Wolfe, Steve Newcomb, Founder, President, Virgance, Jacquelyn Ottman, Founder, President, J. Ottman Consulting, Paul Richardson, President, Renewal Partners, KoAnn Vikoren Skrzyniarz, Founder, President, Sustainable Life Media, and Andrew Winston, co-author, Green to Gold, and author of the soon-to-be-published Green Recovery.

From the eight companies that are accepted to pitch their companies on the first day of Sustainable Brands 09, two will then be selected by the same group of judges, as well as the audience, and given the opportunity to present on the main stage to the entire conference delegation during a plenary session on Wednesday June 3rd. In addition to the two selected to present on the main stage, one will be chosen as the winner and will receive a strategic analysis on how to extend their brand onto a mobile platform, as well as a complete iPhone application (approximate value, $30,000) developed by 3rdWhale Media, which will be involved in the final selection process.

Applicants should submit a one-page executive summary that includes a company description, its sustainability focus, market opportunity and details about the business formation, competition, sales strategy and financials, by the May 8th, 2009 deadline. For specific information and to submit your application online, please visit www.sustainablelifemedia.com/events/sb09/ventureexchange.

About Sustainable Brands '09
Widely reputed to be the most compelling sustainability conference of the year, Sustainable Brands '09 will convene business strategists, along with sustainability, design and brand leaders from a cross section of organizations such as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dell, Clorox, Adidas, Interbrand, Johnson & Johnson, Kohler, Mohawk, Nestle/Purina, SC Johnson, Waste Management, and an unprecedented list of others.

In addition to a newly expanded Solutions Showcase Expo and Sponsored Sessions series, an extended "Un-conference" where participants create the conversations, and a plethora of evening networking activities over the four days of the event, a dozen hands-on workshops are planned along side this year's conference providing interactive exploration of topics such as: Practical Strategies for Green Marketing & Eco-Innovation with Jacquelyn Ottman, Scenario Planning with Global Business Network, the leading international scenario firm, Understanding Your Ecological Footprint with Global Footprint Network and Social Impact Metrics with the Center for Sustainable Innovation.

Details on the conference are currently unfolding at: www.sustainablebrands09.com.

About Sustainable Life Media
A business-to-business online community, e-newsletter and event company located in Burlingame, CA, Sustainable Life Media (SLM) is home for business professionals looking to build new value and competitive advantage by innovating more sustainable strategies, practices and products. SLM delivers top news stories related to the what, who and how of environmental and social innovation, and helps community members connect with thought leaders, peers, partners and solutions providers that can help them quickly reach their goals. For more information, please visit: http://www.sustainablelifemedia.com/about. To subscribe to SLM Newsletters, free, please visit http://www.sustainablelifemedia.com/newsletters.

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Sustainable Life Media, Inc.

Sustainable Life Media, Inc.

Sustainable Life Media is an integrated media company that delivers information, produces events and cultivates communities of interest to facilitate the shift to a flourishing and sustainable economy. Our mission is to inspire and enable forward-thinking individuals and organizations to innovate and implement ideas that contribute to individual and collective health and prosperity that can be sustained.

We bring together optimistic, visionary and courageous individuals from around the world who share a passion for purpose and a desire to create change. Leaders from around the globe are intrigued by Sustainable Life Media's ability to convene diverse stakeholder groups that create an atmosphere for open and transparent conversations that lead us towards a future of innovation and imaginative ideas that support a flourishing and sustainable economy.

Sustainable Brands – our flagship learning, collaboration and commerce community, draws together sustainability, brand and design/innovation professionals to share success stories and emerging best practices and to push the envelope of social and environmental brand innovation. Our goal in serving the Sustainable Brands community is to paint a clear picture of what is driving change in today's business landscape, uncover leading-edge sustainable brand strategies and tools, and facilitate community collaboration for shared benefit – all with the goal of helping more brands prosper by leading the way to a better world. To learn more, visit www.SustainableBrands.com.

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