Climate Week NYC 

Last week, I went to New York for Climate Week. There were so many benefits, including getting nearly 100k steps in, seeing old friends, and having Chinese food that Denver can only dream of. But being there in real time, having water cooler conversations seeing the incredible work that everyone’s doing was particularly special. Climate Week is officially sponsored by The Climate Group, and The Nest Campus puts on a huge series of events at the Javits Center. But Climate Week is essentially a chance for everyone who touches sustainability to put on a panel, event, or showcase throughout the entire city. 

My Favorite Events:

The All We Can Save Project hosted Leah Stokes and Katharine Wilkinson for an intimate conversation about their new books, unique paths and climate engaged. They co-host a podcast A Matter Of Degrees and have powerful new books, respectively, that weave their personal experiences with their work in climate. Please check out Climate Wayfinding and The Carbon Wave. I left the event wanting to invite them both out for cocktails. 

Pact Collective hosted an event on the circularity of beauty. Carly Snider led terrific conversations about beauty waste, small-format packaging, and extended producer responsibility. We heard from leaders at L’Oreal, Ulta Beauty, Credo, and partners at Pact Collective and Closed Loop Partners on how to scale solutions. The focus on pre-competitive collaboration is key. “We can be competitive about everything else, but not when it comes to circularity. No one company can do it alone.” Preach. 

The Certified For The Future event was hosted by PlanetHaus and showcased certifiers and ambitious brands. 1% for the Planet, B Lab, Fairtrade America and The Change Climate Project were there celebrating the impact companies can create. I learned about so many new brands and had no idea the work some others were doing - like Sonos’ refurbished program and taking 98,000 tons of plastic out of their packaging?! I learned about a machine that stops microfibers from getting into our environment, and a technology that ensures microplastics don’t shed in the wash. 

I snuck into my old office at NRDC for their Climate Week Happy Hour, and my manager from 2011-2013 was being honored for working there for 50 years. I feel so focused on private sector/product work these days it felt so refreshing to be reminded of the extraordinary work happening at the NGO level, specifically at NRDC. 

Finally, I attended the Big Green Tent launch party. BGT is a platform where experts, leaders and environmental organizations come together and be seen and supported. Finch is lucky enough to be a partner, and it took place at the Rivian Showroom in Meatpacking.