Now that the dust has settled on Climate Week NYC 2024, and with COP29 almost upon us, we want to share some insights gained from our time in New York. We were blown away by inspiring initiatives and leadership from NGOs and businesses, who demonstrated how strategic communications can achieve a global impact.

Using examples of our work with clients at CWNYC and beyond, we’ve gathered our thoughts on how placing sustainability at the centre of your strategy, marketing and communications can help you to achieve your climate goals while also improving business performance.

Here are seven key takeaways from our time at Climate Week NYC 2024:

Align growth with sustainability

Growth and profitability are important, but modern organisations are judged by their broader impacts. This means we need to integrate sustainability into all of our strategies, not leave it as an inconvenient afterthought. This shift was exemplified by our client Asahi’s announcement at CWNYC of its Global Sustainability Innovation Program, where the company will partner with various organisations to identify, adopt and scale transformational sustainable technologies – recognising the benefits of these innovations both internally and globally.

Take a whole value chain approach

Organisations that combine perspectives and insights from their entire value chains will create more enduring, beneficial impacts by building a fuller picture of challenges faced across various sectors and broader opportunities for lasting change, connection and climate action. We helped the Global Electronics Council (GEC) achieve this with its CWNYC event Accelerating the Transition to 100% Sustainable Technology, which brought together leaders, innovators and policymakers to revolutionise and decarbonise the tech industry. You can find vital insights on shaping sustainable electronics in GEC’s webinar series.

Collaborate for a greater impact

Our work often involves connecting our NGO and corporate clients, and we’re always amazed by the common interests they share, the power of their collective voice and the innovative approaches they create in collaboration. We helped Tilt Collective demonstrate the success of this “strength in numbers” approach at Food Day, part of the NGO’s launch at CWNYC, which brought together leaders and experts in climate, food, health and animal advocacy to work for a plant-based transformation of our food system. The energy and excitement was palpable as we witnessed multiple brilliant organisations working towards shared outcomes.

Transparently communicate both successes and challenges

We’ll never solve the climate crisis by keeping winning strategies to ourselves, nor by staying quiet when further work is required. To demonstrate genuine impact and avoid losing credibility, we need to share transparent, data-backed information about what we’re doing, why, and how it’s impacting our sustainability outcomes. Successful climate collaboration means selflessly sharing what’s working while bravely discussing areas for development, so we can work towards our joint ambitions as a community.

Empower all staff to become climate leaders

While communicating our sustainability actions and outcomes externally is essential, we also need to involve people within the organisation. Facilitating cross-functional collaborations and engaging employees and directors through internal communications ensures a unified approach with striking results. And once again, credit is due here to Asahi, a company that empowers all its people to make sustainability their proud responsibility through numerous internal initiatives and communications.

Discuss climate action and its impacts in terms of today, not tomorrow

We can no longer frame our need for action around “protecting future generations”. The climate crisis is impacting billions of people’s lives, right now. While we were at CWNYC the world experienced multiple natural disasters, including Hurricane Helene, poignantly emphasising the relevance of Climate Group’s CWNYC strapline, “It’s Time”. To make climate action relevant to our audiences, we need to focus on the tangible benefits it will achieve today.

Emphasise in-person connections

The way we collaborate has shifted since the pandemic. However, while we became comfortable working together from remote locations, connecting in person remains essential, as demonstrated by several of our clients, who successfully brought together diverse stakeholders to great effect at CWNYC. Fostering community and hope is important; coming together on climate action creates a sense of unity, and people are inspired by seeing tangible outcomes from their efforts. We experienced this first hand at our Climate Leaders’ Dinner in New York, where we gathered an array of brilliant minds from multiple sectors. The next Climate Leaders’ Dinner will take place in London in November.

With COP29 just around the corner, there’s no time to stop for breath. The climate crisis isn’t waiting for us to catch up, so as sustainability leaders we must constantly redouble our efforts when it comes to adopting strategies and initiatives that create tangible, lasting change. That means using opportunities like COP to develop our sustainability practices, connect with like-minded organisations and individuals and commit to positive collaborations.

We’d love to take a deeper dive into these topics – so whether you want to talk to us at COP29 or you’d like to start a conversation today, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!