Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

One of the opening panels that launched the first day of the 3686 entrepreneurship event in Nashville featured four panelists and a moderator who were all passionate about the environment.

Titled “Exploring Environmental Resilience,” the panel explored everything from renewable energy to sustainability in healthcare and fashion. It was moderated by Julia Polk, a longtime member of the Launch Tennessee board of directors, who launched her latest start-up named ClimateWiser last December.

Joining her as panelists were:

1. Miguel Granier, Managing Director of the Cox Cleantech Accelerator in Atlanta;
2. Matt Kisber, Co-Founder and Chairman of Silicon Ranch Corporation;
3. Reed Omary, a former Radiologist who is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Greenwell Project, and
4. Laci Thorne, Co-Founder of Threadline.

Polk announced at the beginning of the panel that ClimateWiser had just compiled a directory, called the Green Pages, that lists more than 450 stakeholders across 10 states in the Southeast advancing environmental sustainability, resilience, and planetary health.

Kisber said that the goal of Silicon Ranch was to create economic development while also providing cost-effective power. Noting that the company has thousands of sheep today, he said, “We are as much an agricultural company” as the company is a generator of solar power.

He also decried the rhetoric about renewable energy, particularly solar, explaining that uses for residential and industrial needs consume more land than solar farms.

“Policies are going to change,” Kisber noted. “How you position yourself is what is important. We are well-positioned.”

There were several interesting facts that came out of the discussion.

1. Thorne noted that 58 percent of Gen Zer’s prefer second-hand clothes, and she doesn’t buy new clothes, preferring reused items. “If the clothing industry stops producing new clothes, we have enough clothing for six generations,” she added. Thorne also said she does not have an Amazon account.
2. Granier said that Cox Enterprises is a $23 billion-a-year, family-run business. “The main thing that we focus on is the environment,” explaining that it is also a zero-waste company.
3. Describing himself as a radiologist turned Planetary Health Physician, Omary said, “our health as humans depends on the health of our environment.” He also noted that healthcare accounted for 10 percent of carbon pollution.

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