NY Climate Tech: Sep 16 - Sep 22
The Film Festival is here! Also: climate resilience, green careers, mobilizing women in entrepreneurship, an opening party for climate week, accelerators, and more
Hi friends,
Climate Week is almost here, and our final guide will be out soon! But that’s no reason to sleep on all the amazing things happening this week.
First, if you haven’t gotten them yet, buy your tickets today for the 🎬 Climate Film Festival! Three screenings are already sold out. If you’re looking for a guide, look no further. We don’t have festival passes for sale this year, so you’ll need to get tickets for each screening.
Here are some picks for the festival (read on for the full list):
🛢️ VALVE TURNERS: World Premiere, gripping story of a group of activists as they shut down the five major pipelines bringing oil from Canada to the US.
🐋 One with the Whale: A heartwarming yet thrilling story of an indigenous Alaskan family’s struggle to find a foothold in both the ancient and modern world.
🔥 Hot Takes: Climate Comedy: 8 amazing comedians on screen & in person, including NYC’s own Rollie Williams+ Nicole Conlan from the Daily Show
In the meantime, there’s no shortage of events this week! Here are our picks:
Tomorrow, join GreenHome NYC in Midtown for 🌇 Monthly Forum: Bolstering Climate Resilience in NYC
Thursday, you have the power at 👷♀️ Powering the Future: A Green Skills Workforce Summit and ☀️ Power Up Your Career: Brooklyn SolarWorks Job Fair
Friday, our must-attend event for the week: 🙋♀️ WE Connect Event: Mobilizing Women-Led Green Entrepreneurship
Follow up on Friday with the 🎉 Opening Party to Climate Week at Strong Rope Brewery: Fri, Sep 20
We also have updated Opportunities and Community Shoutouts below.
As always, scroll down for the full list of upcoming events.
Cheers,
Alec, Sonam, and the Climate Tech Cities Team
This Week’s Events
🌆 Decarbonizing NYC Offices: Implementing Forward-Thinking Fit-Outs: Tue, Sep 17
📈 Sustainable Growth New York: Tue, Sep 17
🌬️ Empire Wind's "Opportunity in Action": Tue, Sep 17
🌇 Monthly Forum: Bolstering Climate Resilience in NYC: Tue, Sep 17
🌿 Hedgework Eco Data Workshop: Thu, Sep 19
🍽️ Sustainably Social: A Climate Week Exclusive Dinner: Thu, Sep 19
✊ Fighting the Power: Stories of Resistance in the Climate Crisis: Thu, Sep 19
👷♀️ Powering the Future: A Green Skills Workforce Summit: Thu, Sep 19
☀️ Power Up Your Career: Brooklyn SolarWorks Job Fair: Fri, Sep 20
🙋♀️ WE Connect Event: Mobilizing Women-Led Green Entrepreneurship III: Fri, Sep 20
🎉 Opening Party to Climate Week at Strong Rope Brewery: Fri, Sep 20
✍️ Climate Writing Club: Sat, Sep 21
The Climate Film Festival
Friday
Saturday
👩🏾🌾 Farming While Black + ᏗᏂᏠᎯ ᎤᏪᏯ (Meet Me at the Creek): Restoring the land
👩🔬 Science & Solutions: Coral, seaweed, parasites, and stories of innovation
🎨 Arts X Climate: Inspiration and the power of art
🗽 [SOLD OUT] Emergent City: Behind-the-scenes of NYC’s development
🌊 Dive in, Rise Up: Environmental Justice & Water, sponsored by Climate Power: Activism and impact
❄️ CANARY: Glaciers, science, adventure
😱 Trash, Terror, & Tomorrow: Eco-Anxiety at the Brink: Narrative shorts
⛈️ The Here Now Project: US Premiere, the harrowing, real-life impact of climate
🌎 Earth II: The greatest climate action movie never made
🛢️ VALVE TURNERS: World Premiere, gripping IRL story of coordinated action
Sunday
🌇 An Optimist's Guide to the Planet + Freetown: Cooling a City: Buildings!
🌐 Young Voices, Global Perspectives: Narrative and doc shorts around the world
🌾 Common Ground, sponsored by Envest and Sound Future: Regenerative agriculture with some Hollywood wattage
✊ Power Shift: Defying Fossil Fuels: Gripping, inspiring stories of activists
🤖 The Wild Robot: Special screening of DreamWorks’ new film
🐋 One with the Whale: Coming of age as an indigenous hunter in Alaska
🚀 Experimental Climate Shorts: stop-motion, virtual worlds, generative AI, +more
🌳 [SOLD OUT] Closing Feature: Hollow Tree, sponsored by CEEZER: Learning climate in Louisiana
🔥 Hot Takes: Climate Comedy: 7 amazing comedians on screen + in person
⛰️ Weight of Water + Mountain Man: Stories from the Himalayas
🌎 Climate Tech Cities and Streetlife Ventures Startup and Talent Platforms
Climate Tech Cities and Streetlife Ventures are launching new platforms to support climate founders, funders, and career transitioners! There is no shortage of great companies raising money for their groundbreaking ideas, great investors looking to support with capital, and great talent living the mantra that every job is a climate job. We can’t wait to hear from you!
Opportunities
🏗️ Buildings Tech Lab: Sept 20
Each year, the Buildings Tech Lab will engage with NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) leadership and staff to develop priority problem statements to improve agency operations and services. Our proven process, modeled on the Partnership Fund’s Transit Tech Lab and Environmental Tech Lab, has received strong endorsement from both the startups and public servants we work with.
🌆 TMF Sustainable Cities Challenge: Sept 30
Calling all mobility startups! The Toyota Mobility Foundation has announced The Sustainable Cities Challenge, offering up to $3 million in funding to bring critical mobility innovations to market in three key cities: Detroit, Varanasi, and Venice. Learn about the challenges below Transforming Freight in Detroit, USA: Seeking solutions that decrease fossil fuel use and reduce costs in Detroit’s Eastern Market Partnership. Enter by September 12, 2024. Innovating Crowd Flow in Varanasi, India: Seeking data-driven solutions for safer and more accessible crowded areas in Kashi. Enter by September 5, 2024. Embracing Sustainable Mobility in Venice, Italy: Seeking solutions to increase low and zero-carbon transport modes. Enter by September 30, 2024.
⚖️ Climate Justice Fellowship Plus Program: Oct 1
NYSERDA, with support from U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of New York's 14th congressional district, is pleased to announce the Climate Justice Fellowship Plus Program is now available and is fully funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Climate Justice Fellowship Plus Program is a $3 million pilot program to advance climate justice in the Bronx and Queens.
👩🔬 Activate Fellowship: Oct 23
Activate transforms scientists and engineers into founders, empowering them to reinvent the world by bringing their research to market. The two-year Activate Fellowship provides early-stage science entrepreneurs with funding, technical resources, and unparalleled support from a network of scientists, engineers, investors, commercial partners, and fellow entrepreneurs.
Community Shoutouts
🌱 Climate Vine
Hey everyone! Quick shoutout about Climate Vine, a curated membership community to accelerate your impact. Great mix of folks in tech, corporate, government, science, and activism looking to collaborate. Check out upcoming public events here & learn more about their membership and apply for the October 9th onboarding.
🌐 SOSV Climate Tech Summit
The SOSV Climate Tech Summit (October 14-18) is a free, virtual and global event that features the top technologists, researchers, founders, investors, and policy makers working on the frontiers of climate innovation. Registration is open and free.
Upcoming Events
This Week in Depth
🌆 Decarbonizing NYC Offices: Implementing Forward-Thinking Fit-Outs
When: Tuesday, Sept. 17 from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM
Where: Building Energy Exchange
Through a moderated panel discussion, industry experts will provide insights into how commercial building owners, tenants, and consultants can move away from inefficient, traditional practices to create more sustainable, efficient, and healthy workplaces. Attendees will gain practical advice on implementing effective decarbonization strategies and maximizing energy savings throughout the leasing cycle.
📈 Sustainable Growth New York
When: Tuesday, September 17 · 6 - 10:30pm EDT
Where: Mēdüzā Mediterrania, 657 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
Join us at Sustainable Growth New York for a night of learning and networking to promote eco-friendly practices and business development. It's our pleasure to welcome you to an intimate gathering of Marketing & NPD teams, as well as brand founders and CEOs for an evening of discussions and insights that drive authentic, sustainable growth and enhance customer retention for your business.
🌬️ Empire Wind's "Opportunity in Action"
When: Tuesday, September 17 · 8:30am - 2pm EDT
Where: Camp David, 237 36th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Join Equinor and Empire Wind for a Day of Opportunity in Action for Minority/Women/Veteran- Owned Small Businesses. Learn and network in Sunset Park—home to Equinor’s South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT), now under construction. SBMT will serve as the offshore wind hub for the Empire Wind project. When completed, Empire Wind will connect directly into the NYC grid to power 500,000+ New York homes.
🌇 Monthly Forum: Bolstering Climate Resilience in NYC
When: Tuesday, September 17 from 6:15PM - 8:00PM
Where: Fujitsu AirStage, 1450 Broadway - 42nd Floor
How prepared is New York City to handle the complexities of climate change, including flooding? Over a decade after Hurricane Sandy, the city continues to face challenges from storms that inundate streets and tunnels and cause power outages. This discussion will explore how rising sea levels threaten coastal areas, examine the progress of key projects like Living Breakwaters and review the risks associated with heavy rainfall. We'll also delve into potential solutions through green infrastructure and consider the environmental and economic consequences of not taking proactive measures.
🌿 Hedgework Eco Data Workshop
When: Thursday, September 19 · 1 - 2:30pm EDT
Where: Building 77, 141 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205
Inspired by Hedgework, one of the Yard’s 2024 public art installations, join co-creator Mark Shepard for an interactive eco data workshop. Mark will take participants inside the data collected by the hedge and discuss the skills needed to document and interpret data that can be applied through varied avenues from policymaking to art creation. As part of the group discussion, participants will explore environmental concerns and the power of data to help understand our impact on the environment. The culminating activity will include co-designing a speculative data collection system, which will support further conversation about ways that professionals working within sustainability and the green economy can leverage data to drive decision-making.
🍽️ Sustainably Social: A Climate Week Exclusive Dinner
When: Thursday, Sep 19 from 6:00pm - 9:30pm
Where: tán, New York, NY
Join us on September 19th for an exclusive executive dinner to kick off Climate Week NYC, where climate experts, corporate titans, and impact investors will delve into emerging climate policies and inclusive investment strategies in climate and finance.
✊ Fighting the Power: Stories of Resistance in the Climate Crisis
When: Thursday, September 19 · 7 - 8:30pm EDT
Where: Adler Hall at The New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 W 64th Street, New York, NY 10023
Join environmental lawyer Steven Donziger in conversation with non-violent direct-action organizers and participants on the urgent need for sustained disruption against the biggest backers of the fossil fuel industry. Panelists include organizers and participants in Summer of Heat, the extraordinary, months-long campaign targeting Citibank for their continuing support of fossil fuel financing. Drawing upon his own experiences with Chevron, Steven will elicit personal stories of courage and non-violent civil disobedience on a grand scale, street theater, playful storytelling, intergenerational climate activism and the strategic vision intended to pressure specific targets to end the era of fossil fuels.
👷♀️ Powering the Future: A Green Skills Workforce Summit
When: Thursday, September 19, 2024, from 8AM to 2PM
Where: Building 77, Brooklyn Navy Yard
Join us at the Brooklyn Navy Yard as we convene workforce development practitioners around New York City to discuss emerging green skill needs, training pathways, and best practices in building a dynamic and productive workforce in wind, electrification, and decarbonization.
☀️ Power Up Your Career: Brooklyn SolarWorks Job Fair
When: Friday, September 20 · 2 - 5pm EDT
Where: Brooklyn SolarWorks, 200 6th Street 3G, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Come learn about our mission, explore career opportunities, and discover how you can contribute to a greener future. Whether you’re experienced in solar energy or new to the field, we want to meet you! Our managers will be available for onsite interviews. We are an equal employment opportunity company seeking passionate and committed green energy enthusiast.
🙋♀️ WE Connect Event: Mobilizing Women-Led Green Entrepreneurship III
When: Friday, September 20 · 1:30 - 4pm EDT
Where: 1 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10006
Women Entrepreneurship New York City (WE NYC)is committed to promoting diverse women's leadership in the green economy ecosystem with a particular focus on women-centered groups. This large event will bring together investors, aspiring and early-stage women and minority entrepreneurs, corporations, accelerators and incubators, policy-makers, and thought leaders to discuss how we can build inclusive communities, and advance economic inclusion in the emerging green economy spaces. The event will feature prominent speakers from different women-centered community groups and also provide speed networking style mentorship opportunities to attendees. Our goal is to emphasize the potential of increasing access to diverse women's businesses in the green economy.
🎉 Opening Party to Climate Week at Strong Rope Brewery
When: Friday, September 20 · 6:30 - 9:30pm EDT
Where: Strong Rope Brewery Red Hook, 185 Van Dyke Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Join us to celebrate and connect the work being done all over the city to ensure a liveable NYC future. Catch the sunset on the shoreline of climate vulnerable and resilient Red Hook with pop-up post-apocalyptic tunes from FunkRust Brassband. With the launch of Strong Rope's new Imagined Futures brew, highlighting organic NY grain and benifiting 5 climate luminaries and a special conversation between longtime public housing advocate Karen Blondel and environmental journalist Yessenia Funes.
✍️ Climate Writing Club
When: Saturday, September 21 from 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Where: Upper West Side
Climate Writing Club connects and supports New Yorkers exploring topics within climate & sustainability through writing. We meet uptown once a week on Saturday mornings to write about climate together — from fiction to newsletters to academic papers to journaling and everything in between.