Climate Week NYC 2023 Report

Successes and achievements for Climate Week NYC 2023

We Can.

We Will.

Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

Contents 03 04 05 06 08 11 12 15 17 19 20

Thank you Our impact Worldwide coverage Highlights Opening Ceremony Climate Leaders’ Reception The Hub Live The Hub Live – Executive series Our global network Events program Our partners

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

Thank you for making

Climate Week NYC 2023 a success We came together for this year’s Climate Week NYC after a summer of recordbreaking sea temperatures, devastating floods, and deadly wildfires. I truly felt that focused all our minds on the urgency of the change that we need to see – and make.

It made the theme We Can. We Will., even more relevant. Not just during the Opening Ceremony and The Hub Live, but throughout some 585 events across the five boroughs of New York, making this the biggest Climate Week NYC in its 15-year history.

I left New York City without any doubt in my mind that ‘We Can’. The determination across the week was palpable, and the action on the back of the billions of dollars being invested in clean energy and tech across

the globe were evident to all. The examples of innovations that will help solve the challenges were inspiring.

The session on Energizing America for example, felt like it was powered by the Inflation Reduction Act itself – possibly the most striking example of what ‘We Can’ do if governments create the incentive and long-term vision for businesses to act on. The discussions on AI were exciting. And the state of California announcing at Climate Week NYC that it’s suing big oil companies for decades of misinformation gave me hope, because of its quest for accountability and justice. It also showed the power of subnational governments.

These are just a few examples of the incredible work that’s going on, and I felt privileged to bring all those leaders and ideas together under one roof.

Nobody else is going to do it, but all of us together.

So, let’s stay focused and determined.

Slow-to-change regulations, procedures that can take years, policies that stand in the way of the roll-out of renewables – these were recurring themes throughout Climate Week NYC, and rightly so.

So, you ask, ‘Will We?’ The answer to me is an unequivocal ‘Yes’. Because of all the words that were spoken at Climate Week NYC, the ‘We’ may have been the loudest. Nobody else is going to do it, but all of us together.

So, let’s stay focused and determined.

I’m confident that the discussions and action we started together in New York will resonate throughout the fall, and beyond.

This report reflects the impact that We Can, We Will., have when we come together. Thank you for your relentless determination in making Climate Week NYC a success.

Best wishes, Helen Clarkson, CEO, Climate Group

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

Our impact

204

Climate Group member attendees (total):

6.9 billion

Attendees (total):

6,679

Climate Group member organizations in attendance:

Digital campaign ad play impressions:

Attendees (in-person):

2,108

App downloads:

Digital campaign impressions:

42,850,997

Attendees (virtual):

4,571

HubConnect Logins:

Impressions of #ClimateWeekNYC:

Attendee countries:

HubConnect page views:

Media reach:

771K

549,010,589

Speakers:

96

791

186

3,408 839

11,343 04

Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

Worldwide coverage Climate Week NYC was widely covered by US and international media, ranging from broadcast, print and online to podcasts.

Outlets including CNBC, The Weather Channel (US and Spanish language) and Newsweek reported from the venue, interviewing highprofile speakers and climate leaders. The week was also covered by ABC News, AP, BBC News, Bloomberg, Business Green, CBS, CNBC, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, France 24, ITV News, PA, Reuters, Telemundo, The Economist, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The New York Post, The New York Times, The Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

Together, we landed the urgency of climate action in the homes of billions of people across the globe.

We once again partnered with Canary Media and Grist, ensuring cut through with a targeted, key audience.

[Climate Week NYC is] a showcase of human innovation, the countless ways people in many industries are working to slow and potentially reverse the enormous harms humans have done to the planet.

The New York Times

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

Main program highlights

Kicking off Climate Week NYC CEO Helen Clarkson of Climate Group kicked off Climate Week NYC with a heartfelt speech at the Opening Ceremony on Sunday. She said: “There’s no cavalry coming. No knight in solar clad armour charging in, in a white electric vehicle to rescue us. The responsibility rests squarely with all of us.”

Stand up, be brave Author and climate activist Jane Fonda did not mince her words when she took to the stage for a flagship session on phasing out fossil fuels. “It’s too late for incrementalism.

There’s no time left for politeness. We have to stand up and be brave.”

Facing The New Reality The Opening Ceremony on Sunday saw the launch of our new short film, ‘Facing The New Reality’. It’s a stark and clear warning around the current state of the climate by leading global scientists and analysts Professor Naomi Oreskes, Rose M. Mutiso, Professor Emily Shuckburgh, and WMO Secretary-General Peterri Taalas.

California taking action Governor Gavin Newsom of California announced at a press conference during the Opening Ceremony, the state is taking big oil companies to court for decades of misinformation. He also announced he’ll sign a bill which compels companies to disclose their emissions.

Welcome Maryland On the first day of The Hub Live, Maryland announced it’s joining the Under2 Coalition after Secretary of the Environment Serena Mcilwain signed an MOU. The state is now part of a global network of states and regions committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.

Building a thriving business The in-depth report Climate Action at Scale was officially launched at Climate Week NYC. Oliver Wyman and Climate Group joined forces to explore how businesses can switch from making incremental moves to progress at scale. It’s a toolkit for companies to build their business to thrive in a decarbonizing world.

Building a movement A select group of leaders from businesses, governments and civil society came together at the Climate Leaders’ Reception, co-hosted with Salesforce. In her speech, CEO Helen Clarkson of Climate Group said: “This evening is about leadership, but a leader is only a leader when they have followers.

We need to continue to build this movement.”

Fossil fuel phase-out The We Mean Business Coalition, a leading coalition of business organizations, laid out the urgency of a fossil fuel phase-out on the second day of The Hub Live, with the launch of the Fossil To Clean-campaign and guiding principles for business and governments.

Making bold decisions Former president of Colombia, Nobel Peace Prize-recipient and member of The Elders Juan Manuel Santos joined The Hub Live to share his insights on the leadership that is needed in the battle against climate change: making sometimes bold, unpopular decisions, whilst explaining to people why these are needed.

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

Event program highlights

Uniting our event hosts We partnered with Newlab to host a first ever official preevent social gathering, bringing together event hosts from across the five boroughs to share ideas, collaborate and promote what action they were taking.

Innovations at sea We kicked off Climate Week NYC with the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Energy, Installations, and Environment) Meredith Berger and local Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) cadets at the USS Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Manhattan.

They discussed climate response, innovations, and STEM/ Sustainability career opportunities in the Navy. The event was covered exclusively by The Weather Channel. You can watch the segment here.

Creative campaigners Throughout Climate Week NYC, we worked with One Minute Briefs, giving designers a oneminute brief to create posters which encourage businesses and governments to drive climate action, fast. Several hundred incredibly creative minds rose to the challenge – see their thought-provoking work here.

All eyes on sustainable fashion Our long-time partner Junk Kouture hosted an event at the Parsons School of Design, featuring an exhibition of recycled couture designs, models, opening words from Climate Group, and a discussion on sustainable fashion. Junk Kouture has also been featured in our advertising campaign across New York City.

On the Pod Climate Group’s Fifty Shades of Green podcast ran a series of episodes featuring some key Climate Week NYC partners. The first episode featured The NYC Agriculture Collective from our Out of Home Campaign in a discussion about food security in NYC. The next featured our Environmental Justice Partner, the Youth Climate Justice Fund, and our University Partner, Columbia Climate School, discussing climate impacts on human health.

Climate Week NYC app Thousands of people downloaded our Climate Week NYC app to explore our 585 events, build their own agendas for the week and to search for local sustainable businesses.

Taking it to the streets As part of our ongoing work to highlight local action in New York, we were proud to be supported by JCDecaux and NYC Tourism + Conventions to create a major outdoor advertising campaign featuring Broadway Green Alliance, Junk Kouture, The NYC Agriculture Collective, Oliver Scholars, and our Headline Partner Saint-Gobain.

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

Opening Ceremony The Opening Ceremony took place against the backdrop of a year projected to be the hottest ever on record.

2023 has been a “year full of contradictions”, said CEO Helen Clarkson of Climate Group in her opening speech; it saw a solar boom, but was also marred by the worst wildfire season in Canada’s history. We saw the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act begin to trigger ‘a renewables rush’ yet in the same year, sea temperatures rose to an all-time high.

During the Opening Ceremony, climate leaders expressed grave concerns about global warming exceeding 1.5°C, with ‘tipping points’ inching ever closer. It’s clear that people who have contributed the least to the climate crisis are hardest hit by its impacts, whilst at the same time the opposition to the many solutions for the crisis is becoming more overt than ever. Through our short film Facing The New Reality, the warning strongly permeated the Opening Ceremony.

At the very moment tens of thousands of people in New York marched against fossil fuels just a few blocks away, hundreds of business, political, and civil society climate leaders took their seats to kick off three days of discussions on taking climate action.

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

We Can. We Will.

The speakers who took to the stage showcased optimism, determination, and unity in the fight for climate action, in line with the theme for this year’s Opening Ceremony We Can. We Will. Those four words were a call to action for business and political leaders to show ‘loud, proud’ climate leadership, and were heard days later at the UN General Assembly as well.

A united front in the fight against climate change set the tone for the week, creating a space to ask: ‘How do we build on what we’ve already achieved’? Three themes arose from the discussions: Vulnerability, Accountability, and Inspiration.

Vulnerability “By the year 2100, economic damage from uncontrolled climate change is so great that it essentially wipes out economic growth [and] matches global GDP. That’s the extreme case scenario and we’re heading in that direction where the cost of fixing climate change becomes so great that we have no money left for anything else and we all become a lot poorer”, said Naomi Oreskes, Professor of History at Harvard University in the short film ‘Facing The New Reality’.

Accountability Bob Moritz, Chair of PwC highlighted the need for radical systems change and stated that, “...we have rules and requirements to protect citizens and investors. How about some rules to protect the planet... and [we should] hold people accountable for that.”

Inspiration Selwin Hart, the UN’s Special Adviser and Assistant SecretaryGeneral for Climate Change, delivered a powerful message of hope and encouragement from the Secretary-General: “...to the first movers and doers in this room. […] Do not relent in the face of attacks on progress; you’re doing the right thing. Keep going. Too much is at stake for us to be silent or to sit on the sidelines. We’re simply out of time”.

Speaker highlights • Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Co-Founder, Urban Ocean Lab

• Marina Silva, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change of Brazil

• Benoit Bazin, Chief Executive Officer, Saint-Gobain

• H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and UN Climate Change High-Level Champion

• Gavin Newsom, Governor of California • Katharine Hayhoe, Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair, Texas Tech University and Chief Scientist, The Nature Conservatory • Laura Corb, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company; Leader of McKinsey Sustainability, North America

• Mayor Sadiq Khan, Chair of C40 Cities • Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change • Wes Moore, Governor of Maryland

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

Opening Ceremony attendee stats Physical audience

Virtual audience

Climate leaders:

566

Companies:

362

Virtual attendees:

Countries:

States:

Virtual attendee digital engagements

37

679

27 Government:

29%

13,862 Senior Manager or Advisor:

19%

Media:

4%

Civil society

24%

Executive:

42%

Academic

Physical audience by sector

3%

Physical audience By seniority

Head of Department: Business

40%

39%

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

Climate Leaders’ Reception Senior leaders from across the globe gathered to celebrate climate progress, and debate the bold agenda needed for global climate action.

Exploring new opportunities and breaking down barriers, climate leaders joined an evening reception co-hosted with Salesforce.

Governments and businesses have the means, and the scale to move mountains.

And with that, like it or not, comes responsibility.

To act, to accelerate, to pave the way for others to be transparent.

People worldwide have come together this week during Climate Week NYC to say we’ve got to go faster.

Suzanne DiBianca, Chief Impact Officer & EVP, Salesforce

Helen Clarkson, CEO, Climate Group

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

The Hub Live The Hub Live has consistently provided a platform for doers, drivers and trailblazers of climate action where they share, collaborate and inspire the change that is needed to overcome the hurdles in our path.

This year, the challenge of keeping corporate climate action on-track, phasing out fossil fuels, scaling up climate-positive innovation and ensuring an equitable path for climate finance to those most in need took centre-stage during the three plenary flagship blocks of content.

When you vote, go to the polls with climate in your heart. All of the other issues that we care about won’t matter if we don’t have a liveable planet.

Jane Fonda, author and activist

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

With 17 thematic sessions in four content streams – The New Industrial Revolution, Financing the Green Economy, The Energy and Transport Transition and Nature, Food Systems and Health – attendees left no stone unturned as we welcomed well over 2,000 business, policy, NGO and civil society leaders to discuss, debate and collaborate on how best to drive climate action, fast.

Speaker highlights

We need a change of paradigm in our multilateral institutions to channel the money and resources where they will have the biggest effect in this war to save the planet.

Juan Manuel Santos, former President of Colombia and Member of the Elders.

• Andre Fourie, Global Vice President, Sustainability, AB InBev​ • Rt. Hon Humza Yousaf, First Minister of Scotland • Jane Fonda, Author and Activist • Juan Manuel Santos, Former President of Colombia and Member of the Elders • John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation • Jerome Foster II, Member and Advisor, White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council

• Kristin Tilley, Australia’s Ambassador for Climate Change, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade • Susan Lund, Vice President of Economics and Private Sector Development, IFC • Vanessa Kerry, CEO Seed Global Health, WHO Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health • Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

The Hub Live attendee stats Physical audience

Virtual audience

Climate leaders:

1,857

Companies:

1,026

Virtual attendees:

Countries:

States:

Virtual attendee digital engagements

56

Civil society

43

13,008 Senior Manager or Advisor:

Government:

25%

3,904

24%

13%

Media:

4%

Executive:

27%

Academic

Physical audience by sector

Business

55%

3%

Physical audience By seniority

Head of Department:

49%

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

The Hub Live Executive series

We once again ran our successful series of breakout, closed-door and invite-only roundtables and workshops.

The Executive Series gathered senior policy makers, influential business leaders and civil society champions to freely discuss challenges and opportunities across a range of climate-related issues.

As always, each session was held under the Chatham House rule, ensuring candid and honest discussions among the participants. Each roundtable and workshop hosted up to 15 and 50 people respectively. Participants were encouraged to share their experiences, engage in constructive dialogue, and boost collaboration on pathways to meaningful climate progress.

By focusing on candid and honest conversations, attendees created meaningful connections, positive outcomes and actionable solutions to help maintain the momentum needed to drive action now.

Masterclass Series The Masterclass Series convened solutions-focused workshops of up to 50 people that created tangible outcomes and helped build capacity, knowledge, and collaborative networks to accelerate the transition within the green economy.

Roundtables • Accelerating sustainability through the circular economy • Building Trust with AI For a Just & Equitable Future • Climate action at scale: business designs that unlock investment • From policy to action: leveraging the Inflation Reduction Act for change • From insights to action: using the World Risk Poll to inform climate resilient societies • Green steel for a green future: Decarbonizing US steel production to unlock green jobs and energy • How to navigate the ‘messy middle’ on the road to decarbonization today • Leaving no one behind: why a just transition matters • No regrets moves on ESG reporting: Advancing your tech, talent, and processes • Overcome and unlock: tackling renewable energy barriers to fuel sustainable growth • Resilience journeys: realizing collective action • The heavy lift: getting it done in hard to abate sectors • There is no net zero without nature

Masterclass workshops • Transform to Net Zero: accelerating businesswide transformation to achieve net zero • Transform to Net Zero: engaging with suppliers to reduce scope 3 emissions

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

Top executive series moments

1 2 3

ur opening day roundtable, How to navigate the O ‘messy middle’ on the road to decarbonization today, brought together senior stakeholders and speakers to discuss the ‘messy middle’ – instances of climate commitment backsliding and strategies for continued progress. ur Masterclass workshops gathered close to O 80 participants in two interactive, early-morning sessions. The attendees focused on success stories of business-wide transformations to achieve net zero, and on practical approaches to engage with suppliers to reduce scope 3 emissions.

Attendee data

100+ Companies represented

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Sectors represented: • Agriculture • Construction • Energy • Finance

Our roundtable Climate action at scale: business designs that unlock investment focused on recently published research conducted jointly between Oliver Wyman and Climate Group. The report explores indepth how businesses can move from incremental moves that can be made under “business as usual”, to progress at scale.

• Healthcare • Heavy Industry • Real Estate • Technology • Tourism • Transport • Utilities

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

Our global network Each year we bring together our global Climate Group member network at Climate Week NYC. To celebrate collective achievements, ignite progress and champion change.

Attendee data

526

total members attended in-person

265

Total members attended virtually

Top member moments Under2 Coalition co-chair and California Govenor Gavin Newsom used his platform at the Opening Ceremony to announce that California is suing major fossil fuel companies in a landmark lawsuit to hold Big Oil accountable for decades of climate deception, showing the power of subnational governments.

SteelZero member Volvo pledged to end the production to all diesel-powered Volvo cars by early 2024, as it sets out plans to become an all-electric automaker.

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

There’s a myth that you can be either sustainable or profitable... these things are not mutually exclusive... you need both to be viable.

Eyrn Devola, Head of Sustainability, Siemens Digital Industries, EP100, RE100 and EV100 member

Member speakers

EV100 and SteelZero member Orsted CEO Mads Nipper emphasized US offshore wind goals are still achievable despite challenges.

We celebrated some of our trailblazing members during the RE100 Leadership Awards, recognizing their leadership in accelerating the global transition to 100% renewable electricity.

RE100 member Johnson & Johnson are set to pilot a program to roll out health clinics in Arizona, Florida, and Louisiana to protect the most vulnerable patients from the health impacts of climate change.

Thanks to the participation of around 200 of our members, Oliver Wyman and Climate Group published a new report at Climate Week NYC. ‘Climate Action at Scale,’ a toolkit for companies to move from just reducing emissions to building a business to thrive in a decarbonizing world.

• AB SKF

• Johnson & Johnson

• A. P. Moller Maersk A/S

• Lendlease

• AstraZeneca • Delta Electronics • Deloitte Global Services Ltd • Deloitte LLP • EDF Group • Google Ireland Limited • Government of British Columbia • Government of Queretaro • HSBC Holdings Plc

• Nexans • PepsiCo • Prologis, Inc. • PwC • Ramboll Group • Siemens • Signify • Société des Produits Nestlé S.A. • The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. • Unilever • Volvo Car Corporation

• IKEA Supply AG

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Successes at Climate Week NYC 2023

Climate Week NYC Events Program Climate Week NYC brought together a record breaking 585 separate events as part of the wider week.

The events were all captured in our ten themes: Built Environment, Energy, Environmental Justice, Finance, Food, Industry, Nature, Policy, Sustainable Living and Transport. This year had the largest and most diverse range of events to date.

Covering the five boroughs of New York city through in-person, as well as hybrid and online events around the world.

In addition, this year for the first time Climate Week NYC hosted a special preevent social to bring together event hosts from across New York City to collaborate, share ideas and promote their activity throughout the week.

Total number of events:

585

Number of events per theme* Transport:

30 Food:

60 Built Environment:

84

Finance:

124 Sustainable Living:

132 Energy:

134 Nature:

138 Environmental Justice:

149 Policy:

178 Industry:

* Total higher as some events belonged to multiple themes.

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Thank you for your support You’re driving climate action, fast

Headline Partner

Opening Ceremony Partner

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Executive Series Partner

The Hub Live Partner

Platinum Partner

Research Partner

Masterclass Series Partner

Platinum Partner

Stream Partner

Gold Partner

RE100 Leadership Awards Partner

Resilience Series Partner

Silver Partner

Silver Partner

Policy Program Partner

Supporter Partner

Industry Program Partner

Energy Program Partner

Media Partner

Food Program Partner

Nature Program Partner

Sustainable Tourism Partner

Built Environment Program Partner

University Partner

Sustainable Living Program Partner

Event Partner

Environmental Justice Program Partner

Carbon Offsetting Partner

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Watch our wrap up video here

Climate Week NYC 2024 will be back week commencing 22 September.

See you next year Get in touch to inquire about sponsorship for 2024

ClimateWeekNYC.org

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