Sustain SC's 5th Annual Sustainability Symposium
About this Event
Join us on Thursday, October 22 at Central Energy in Columbia for Sustain SC's 5th Annual Sustainability Symposium. Each year, Sustain SC’s Symposium brings stakeholders together at the intersection of commerce and conservation. The conference is open to the public and features a day of learning, networking and conversation.
Join us to connect with sustainability and resiliency experts from across South Carolina at the intersection of commerce and conservation. Get ready for dynamic presenters and panelists, great food and unparalleled networking.
The full agenda and speakers are being annouced soon. Follow SustainSC on social media for real-time Symposium updates.
Thank you to our Symposium Sponsors!
Benfactor: Atlantic Packaging, Google and Parker Poe
Gold: Boeing
Silver: AFL, Avison Young, Baker Donelson, energyRe, GEL, Hazen & Sawyer, HRP and ReWa
Bronze: Black Bear Strategies, Branham Group, Choate Construction, Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, Lowcoutry Land Trust, Open Space Insititute, PalmettoPride, Palmetto Trail and Terracon
In-kind: Green Energy Biofuel, Heritage Landcare, Milliken Advisors
Agenda
🕑: 08:30 AM
Check-in + Networking
Info: Join us from 8:30am-9:15am for coffee, breakfast snacks and networking ahead of the event!
🕑: 09:15 AM - 09:45 AM
Welcome
Host: Leslie Skardon, Sustain SC
🕑: 09:45 AM - 10:45 AM
Panel: Conservation as an Economic Lever for South Carolina Communities
Info: Conservation as an Economic Lever for South Carolina Communities: Key Insights from Florence County
This panel will bring together key stakeholders to reflect on how Florence County’s conservation movement took shape, the goals driving it today and the collaborative model that’s protecting the region’s natural and cultural assets. It will also highlight lessons and strategies that can help scale and replicate similar conservation efforts in counties across South Carolina. It will include representatives from land trusts, Florence County and conservation organizations.
🕑: 10:55 AM - 11:00 AM
Break
🕑: 10:55 AM - 12:15 PM
Keynote Address + Fireside Chat: The Economic and Conservation Power of South
Host: Keynote: Robert Bonnie, Sage Agronomics
Info: The Economic and Conservation Power of South Carolina’s Working Lands:
This keynote and fireside chat will explore the national and state landscape for working lands, highlighting how their preservation strengthens our economy, supports rural communities and serves as a core conservation and sustainability strategy. The discussion will underscore the need for a statewide coalition of industry, conservation and community partners to drive economic growth, expand renewable material markets, support workforce and infrastructure needs, and reinforce the resilience of South Carolina’s supply chain.
🕑: 12:35 PM - 01:35 PM
Lunch
Info: Sponsored by Parker Poe Consulting
🕑: 02:00 PM - 03:25 PM
Panel: Balancing Data Center Industry Expansion and SC Natural Resources
Info: Managing the Load: Balancing the Data Center Industry Expansion and Our Natural Resources in South Carolina
This panel will bring together key stakeholders to create a shared understanding about the emerging data center industry's use of natural resources and how to balance this with protecting and sustaining our state's natural resources. This panel will include and build upon outcomes from Sustain SC's summer workshop. Panelists will include representatives from multiple sectors including the data center industry, economic development and conservation.
🕑: 03:25 PM - 03:30 PM
Presentation of the 2026 Ethel Bowman Bunch Sustainability Leadership Award
🕑: 03:30 PM - 03:40 PM
Closing + Adjourn
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 241.94
