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The inaugural Convene 4 Climate sustainability conference was held in Barcelona, Spain.
In mid-September, global business event leaders, sustainability experts, and innovators will gather at the third annual Convene 4 Climate (C4C) conference, taking place this year in Lisbon, Portugal, a city named by the EU’s European Commission as both the EU’s “Green Capital 2020” and the “European Capital of Innovation” in 2023. The city earned the “Green Capital” title, according to the Commission, through its leadership in demonstrating that business growth, protecting the environment, and improving a community’s quality of life “go hand in hand.”
Sherrif Karamat, CAE, President and CEO, PCMA and CEMA
Lisbon’s track record for using innovation to drive sustainable business growth that translates into social, environmental, and economic benefits makes it an ideal backdrop for C4C. Launched in partnership with SANCBE, the Strategic Alliance of National Convention Bureaux of Europe, C4C has, for the last two years, looked across geographic regions and business sectors to identify proven and scalable approaches that drive sustainable, inclusive business growth.
At C4C, those innovations are a starting point: They serve as a catalyst for leveraging the knowledge and expertise of business events leaders and other conference participants, who ask questions, challenge assumptions, and collectively build on ideas in interactive workshops and expert-led discussions. The result is new partnerships and networks that can greatly speed the adoption of innovation.
In Lisbon, we will present the first-ever C4C Global Awards, an initiative that casts a wide net for business models, technologies, and approaches that are transforming business events. The competition received entries in four categories, from multiple countries and sources, including corporations, nonprofits, startups, DMOs, public institutions, and others. Finalists will be invited to Lisbon to pitch their solutions at C4C, and the award winners will be flown to Miami next January, to share their ideas with a wider audience at Convening Leaders 2027.
“Climate change is about a lot more than polar bears and penguins. It’s about people,” C4C 2026 keynote speaker and climate scientist Kristen Averyt has said. Averyt, executive vice president, science, for the American Geophysical Union, was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for her work on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
“If we’re going to protect our society, if we’re going to make sure that our communities are resilient and we’re going to ensure the sustainability of our natural resources, we need to make sure that climate science is in every nook and cranny of our society.”
On another note: I am very happy to introduce Gabrielle Weiss as Convene’s new editor in chief. Her background includes an award-winning tenure as vice president and editor in chief at Trade Show Executive and a wealth of experience in marketing and communication strategies. She also brings an extensive global network and a passionate interest in the business side of the business events industry to Convene and PCMA. Welcome, Gabrielle.