Conference brings together leaders in international sustainable energy

January 28, 2012, Cambridge UK: Azuri’s CEO Simon Bransfield-Garth will speak this week at the R20 conference in Vienna on a panel discussing “Emerging Countries showing the Path: Successful Strategies for Regions”. R20’s Founding Chair Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Federal Chancellor of Austria Werner Faymann, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso (tbc) and Kandeh Yumkella, General Director UNIDO will also participate in the conference.

R20 Vienna, “Implementing the Sustainable Energy Future“, will focus on practical and inspiring sub-national bottom up actions from around the globe to build strong sustainable economies and make clean, local sources of energy available to everyone. Best practices and recent success stories will be showcased to demonstrate that the transformation of the energy system at sub-national level is an essential step towards the green economy paradigm shift.

Azuri is bringing affordable electricity to low-income households in emerging countries that lack access to the grid. Indigo technology combines mobile phone and solar technology to provide pay-as-you-go solar power that replaces kerosene and phone charging services, while cutting users’ spend by as much as 50%.  Research has revealed that by providing affordable pay-as-you-go solar lighting, families can extend their productive day by a full 3 hours, allowing for more time to study or work.

In October 2012, Mr Schwarzenegger called Azuri a “true green action hero” and crowned the company overall winner of the Sustainia Award – a new global award honouring a solution, technology or idea with a significant contribution to a more sustainable future. Sustainia and its partners are supporting Azuri this year to help build awareness around its sustainable solution, and make it a global role model.

The R20 Regions of Climate Action a non-profit organization founded in 2010 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other global leaders in cooperation with the United Nations. The R20 is a coalition of partners led by regional governments that work to promote and implement projects that are designed to produce local economic and environmental benefits in the form of reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions; strong local economies; improved public health; and new green jobs.