What do conservation biologist M. Sanjayan, supermodel Amber Valletta and Reverend Lennox Yearwood Jr. have in common? They’ll all be converging in Austin, Texas, this fall for the third annual SXSW Eco. Once again, Ensia will be in attendance as an official supporter.

What should conference attendees expect? In true Austin fashion, a little bit of everything — with sessions running the gamut from reducing food waste in the U.S. to sustainable travel and future-proofing cities. (Personally, we’re really intrigued by the session titled “Creating an Irresistible Future” — who wouldn’t want that?)

In addition to three days of engaging breakout sessions and panel discussions, SXSW Eco will also feature a public space design competition, film screenings, a Big Data hackathon and the ever-popular Startup Showcase. Last year’s showcase winner — PlanetReuse, an online marketplace facilitating building material reuse nationwide — hit its Series A funding goals less than a month after the victory at SXSW Eco, so you know this is the place to see the technologies of tomorrow before they hit the big time.

SXSW Eco takes place October 7–9, 2013, in Austin, Texas. For discount tickets, enter the code “reg-eco-sec_j49vlsdkjv” on the registration page.

Photo by eschipul (Flickr | Creative Commons)