[RE]VERSE PITCH COMPETITION

IMPACT SPOTLIGHT: [RE]VERSE PITCH COMPETITION

Working with entrepreneurs to turn waste into the raw materials for new or expanding social enterprises

Now in its 6th year, the US BCSD is partnered with the City of Austin and the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Texas on the [Re]verse Pitch Competition in Austin, Texas.

The [Re]verse Pitch Competition helps turn valuable raw materials that are currently leaving Austin businesses, nonprofits and institutions as waste into the foundation of new enterprises. Companies that are consistently generating or collecting by-product, surplus or otherwise underutilized materials in Austin, are encouraged to become [Re]verse Material Suppliers. Prospective social entrepreneurs are then invited to attend the presentations about the materials, form teams and come up with ways they might put the materials to higher and better use via new innovative businesses. Mentorship and supporting programming is provided by the competition organizers.

Finalists compete for innovation prize funding from the City of Austin, along with other in-kind resources provided by other Austin businesses. The competition has helped launch businesses working with organics and food waste, vinyl, and other hard-to-recycle materials. Past material suppliers have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in disposal costs, found new potential customers through the competition’s publicity and found creative new ideas for waste reduction.

Learn more at https://reversepitch.org

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US BCSD Project: [Re]verse Pitch Competition

Impact Area: Circular Economy