What’s Next for Convene 4 Climate -

The inaugural Convene 4 Climate sustainability conference was held in Barcelona, Spain last year.

Tanya Popeau shared how this year’s Convene 4 Climate conference is looking to drive bold, systemic change:

C4C was intentionally designed as a highly curated experience, bringing together key organizations and individuals from across the business events industry — and from adjacent sectors — with a shared commitment to sustainability and ESG. Our aim was to create the conditions for meaningful collaboration, innovation, and inspiration, drawing as much from voices outside our industry as from within it.

Tanya Popeau, PCMA’s head of global sustainability

Following the inaugural event in Barcelona, we published the C4C Report, capturing the key outcomes and charting the journey ahead. The insights from that first edition are now shaping the evolution of our platform.

We are building on this momentum with an even more globally strategic approach this year. The curated, cross-sectoral audience remains central — ensuring the diversity of thought and experience needed to drive real transformation. What’s new is our focus on translating outcomes into action: helping individuals, teams, and organizations understand how they can meaningfully contribute to shared goals and leveraging peer-to-peer learning and emerging technologies to accelerate our efforts.

The core pillars of C4C guide not only the Rotterdam 2025 event, but the platform as a whole:

Reimagine challenges us to rethink how the business events industry approaches sustainability. We’ll bring together key partners and fresh perspectives to explore bold, future-focused ideas through visionary speakers and innovative formats.
Inspire is about using the power of storytelling and real-world examples to spur action. We’ll feature compelling voices and interactive sessions that help motivate participants to lead change in their own work.
Movement focuses on turning ambition into action. Through peer-to-peer learning and hands-on collaboration, we’ll strengthen a global community committed to advancing sustainability across the industry.

Our diverse global speakers will openly address the evolving landscape of sustainability regulation and shifting commitments. More importantly, the event will serve as a platform for our community to collectively explore new strategies, partnerships, and actions that can accelerate sustainable change in a complex landscape. This moment underscores the critical opportunity for Europe to step up as a global hub for sustainability leadership — hosting influential conversations and inspiring international collaboration to fill gaps left elsewhere.

Rotterdam is known for tackling complex challenges like migration and sustainability, with a vibrant ecosystem of creative businesses, startups, and cutting-edge technologies that will have a place in the event. Ranked as the second-most sustainable city in the world (Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index 2024), Rotterdam exemplifies how collaboration across an entire ecosystem can drive bold, systemic change. Its ambitious goals, such as achieving a carbon-neutral port by 2050 and pioneering vertical farming, provide real-world examples of sustainability in action — and C4C is all about action.

I’m genuinely excited to be leading C4C for the first time. I’m eager to bring together CEOs, policymakers, academics, tech pioneers, and frontline NGOs to co-create a powerful network. The ambition is to move C4C beyond a one-off event — to establish a connected global movement. With each of these efforts, my vision is to foster a vibrant ecosystem where purposeful events, bold thinking, and cross-sector connections converge to deliver concrete social and environmental impact.

Michelle Russell is editor in chief of Convene

Learn more about Convene 4 Climate at Convene4Climate.org.