Side Events 2024

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Side Events

ESG Leaders Forum

Theresa Spandel

Senior Analyst, CLIMATE & COMPANY, expert in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures

Aleksandra Palinska

Executive Director at Eurosif

Alexander Stevens

CEO, Greenomy

Elena Cargnello

Member of the Board of Directors | Cogenio

Andrei Gurin

Sustainable Finance Unit, Team Leader – Taxonomy and Reporting, European Commission

Fenya Sourla

Co-founder, COO & ESG Expert at Dataphoria

Kaisa Karjalainen

Director of the Mission Zero Academy (MiZA)

The conference is aimed at business leaders in the CEE region, and it is dedicated to exploring key topics in sustainability and corporate responsibility. It features a series of panel discussions and breakout sessions led by experts from various sectors, focusing on issues like legislation, sustainable finance, and best practices in business. The event provides opportunities for networking and in-depth discussions, aiming to foster knowledge sharing among professionals committed to advancing ESG goals. 

CEE Climate Connect

The event is a speed networking session aimed at professionals and key stakeholders in Central and Eastern Europe. Co-organized with the Representation of the European Commission in Romania, it offers a chance to quickly connect with influential people, build new relationships, and explore potential collaborations. The goal is to help participants make valuable connections that can support their work and initiatives in the region.

The role of the future Făgăraș Mountains National Park in the context of climate change

Based on the Foundation Conservation Carpathia’s mission to create Europe’s largest forest wilderness National Park in the Romanian Făgăraș Mountains as a complete and self-sustaining ecosystem benefiting nature and people, and taking into account Barbara and Christoph Promberger’s speech during the Climate Change Summit, we will discuss the role that this park could play in mitigating climate change.

Guided tour in the East Park

Adrian Dohotaru

Vă propunem un tur ghidat prin Parcul Est, cel mai mare spațiu public verde din Cluj. O parte a acestuia va amenajată sub forma unei arii naturale urbane protejate, unde pot fi observați și câțiva arbori emblemă ai parcului. În funcție de vreme, putem ajuge și în livada Palocsay, ocazie cu care puteți afla mai multe despre concepte precum ”food forrest”, grădini și livezi comunitare.

Guided tour on the banks of Transylvanian Bistrița

Cristian Țetcu

Vă așteaptăm la o plimbare pe malurile Bistriței Ardelene, pentru a admira natura urbană și peri-urbana a Municipiului Bistrița. Pe parcursul drumeției vă veți bucura de cântecul păsărilor și de jocul fluturilor (s-ar putea fie destul de cald, incă) și veți putea observa rosăturile lăsate de castori. Traseul va ajunge și în zona trovanților, formațiuni geologice impresionante. Plimbarea prin zăvoaiele urbane vor fi ocazia perfecta pentru a afla de ce zona trebuie protejată.

Right to repair workshop - circularity in the ICT industry workshop with MSc Ladeja Godina Košir, Founder and Executive Director of CircularChange, Co-Chair of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP)

Ladeja Godina Kosir

Founder and Executive Director of Circular Change

Workshop on ecodesign for circularity in the ICT industry.

Improving Your Organisation’s Ecological Footprint and Handprint: Strategies for Sustainability and Enhanced Public Image

Tom Meijeraan

Co-founder, Arctic Reflections

Assessing the ecological footprint by measuring resources and energy use, along with the resulting GHG emissions and waste, has become crucial in today’s context as reporting the environmental and climate impact of activities is increasingly mandatory and is of great importance for transparency and an enhanced public image.
While the ecological footprint helps identify areas within an organization that require sustainable transformation by highlighting unsustainable practices, the handprint approach goes a step further by focusing on the positive environmental impacts an organization can generate. The handprint emphasizes proactive actions that lead to sustainability, showcasing how organizations can not only reduce their negative impact but also actively contribute to environmental well-being.
This interactive workshop aims to equip small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with knowledge and tools necessary to understand and improve both their ecological footprint and handprint. Participants will learn how to implement sustainable practices, expand their positive environmental contributions, and effectively communicate their efforts. By enhancing their public image through demonstrated environmental responsibility, organizations can build trust with stakeholders and attract positive attention, ultimately benefiting both the environment and their business reputation.

Nature based Solutions for Climate Change adaptation

Hakan Tropp

COO, Stockholm Institute for Water

This panel will explore the critical risks that business as usual poses on natural resources, with focus on freshwater ecosystems.The speakers will discuss the challenges companies face in transforming their business to become biodiversity-friendly and climate resilient.

The panelists will also present best practices and provide practical examples of how Nature based Solutions are a viable option that both benefit business development and biodiversity conservation, and describe the role that companies can play in their implementation.

Effective Integration of the Latest Sustainability Reporting and Compliance Requirements

Aleksandra Palinska

Executive Director at Eurosif

The workshop aims to offer sustainable professionals in multiple industries a space for dialogue and best practices exchange on effectively implementing, monitoring and reporting sustainability and CSR strategies, in line with the latest compiance and regulatory requirements.

Sustainable NGOs workshop - World Food Day

In the context of the World Food Day and the Climate Change Summit 2024, the Group of the European Youth for Change (GEYC) and Auchan Retail Romania invite you to a practical workshop through which we can explore together how non-governmental organizations can be more aware of the impact of environment of their activities and to make sustainable choices when it comes to food and purchases (sustainable procurement).

Road to 2100

Oliver Bolton

CEO at Earthly

Road to 2100 descriere: In light of the rapidly changing times, exemplified by advancements in technology, we, as sustainability ambassadors, are committed to ensuring the accurate and timely dissemination of information to the public in the twenty-first century. To this end, we are organizing a workshop centered around the En-ROADS platform, developed by MIT. The central question guiding our workshop is: “What actions can we take to sustain ourselves?” Recognizing the challenges of altering our perspective on the planet until 2100, we acknowledge the urgency of addressing global warming. Failure to act now could result in a 3.3-degree Celsius temperature rise by the year 2100, potentially leading to adverse consequences such as submergence of areas like Dubai or Venice. 

Embassy @ Climate Change Summit

Barbara Promberger

Executive Director, Foundation Conservation Carpathia

Christoph Promberger

Executive Director, Foundation Conservation Carpathia

The event will be open to all Aspire Alumni to join and discuss about the amazing work that the Foundation Conservation Carpathia is conducting. We will have an engaging roundtable where the mission, challenges and successes of this amazing initiative will be discussed.

How to explore and design sustainable business models

Jan Leyssens

FOUNDING MEMBER, WE ARE IMPACT COLLECTIVE

The workshop is aimed at representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises who need to understand what the steps for the transition to a sustainable business model are

#CIRCULARYouth Voices

Hina West

Global Impact Director, People and Planet First

Ladeja Godina Kosir

Founder and Executive Director of Circular Change

The CIRCULAR Youth Voices panel on October 16th in Romania, featuring Ladeja Godina Košir and Hina West, will engage young participants in interactive discussions about the circular economy. This session will focus on Romania’s sustainable development, encouraging attendees to share ideas and collaborate on solutions for their local communities. The panel aims to empower Romanian youth to drive the country’s circular economy transition, addressing nation-specific challenges and opportunities. By fostering innovative thinking, the event seeks to inspire a new generation of sustainability leaders who can impact Romania’s industries, urban development, and resource management practices.

FEL Energy Trilemma Workshop

Andrei Gurin

Sustainable Finance Unit, Team Leader – Taxonomy and Reporting, European Commission

In this event, we aim to address the global challenge of the Energy Trilemma – how we can balance the three essential pillars: Energy Security, Energy Equity and Environmental Sustainability. We will explore integrated solutions to improve these aspects from different perspectives, that of the public and local administration, of the private sector, but also of the final energy consumers.

Exploring the urban nature

Petricani Meadow is one of the few remaining natural areas in Bucharest, such as: the urban delta of Dâmbovița, Colentina river banks in Dobroești, Băneasa forest and all the other forest patches remained from the ancient Vlăsia woods. Together with Văcărești Natural Park, these areas form the natural patrimony of the city and they must be maintained and taken care of for their intrinsic inestimable value and for the benefits they bring to urban communities. During our slow walk we propose the participants to observe and to listen to the natural world around us, guided by brief information we provide throughout the visit, and to imagine possible futures where nature and people thrive in the city.

Impact în antreprenoriat / Impact in entrepreneurship

Jan Leyssens

FOUNDING MEMBER, WE ARE IMPACT COLLECTIVE

RBL și Social Innovation Solutions invită antreprenorii la o discuție cu sens despre impactul în antreprenoriat, organizând pentru al doilea an consecutiv o masă rotundă în cadrul Climate Change Summit.

În primăvara acestui an, ne-am pregătit pentru impact pe parcursul celei de-a XII-a ediții a RBL Summit, aceasta fiind tema centrală a evenimentului fanion al Fundației. În această toamnă, pe 16 octombrie, vom explora timp de două ore ce înseamnă să ai un business cu impact pentru a obține schimbări tangibile și de durată.

Jan Leyssens, Founding Member We Are Impact Collective, invitatul prezent din partea Climate Change Summit la masa rotundă împreună cu membrii comunității RBL, este un expert recunoscut în dezvoltarea modelelor de afaceri circulare și un profesionist cu o abordare pozitivă. Este specializat în a ajuta companiile să-și schimbe perspectiva și să își reproiecteze modelele de afaceri pentru a obține schimbări și crede cu fermitate că singura modalitate eficientă de a aborda provocările globale este adoptarea unei mentalități proactive de a face, de a explora și de a testa în loc să se bazeze pe abordări teoretice sau eforturi de lobby.

Beyond "Energy Efficiency First" - Deep Decarbonisation of Buildings in CEE

This two-part event will reunite stakeholders from across the building value chain to debate lesser-discussed aspects of sustainable buildings: 1) the emissions embodied in buildings across their life cycle (“whole-life carbon”) and 2) the challenge of underperforming building renovations. EPG will present its work and host panel discussions on each of these topics.

Once Upon a Time: From Eco-Anxiety to Climate Inspiration

Meta Pezdir

Founder & Facilitator, Lilalab

Once Upon a Time: From Eco-Anxiety to Climate Inspiration aims to address climate-related anxiety among youth through the power of fairy tales, encouraging them to connect with their local environment, express their fears, and create hopeful narratives.
Within the workshop, we talk about our climate fears, learn why fairy tales are a magical tool to address those fears, and write and share our own fairy tales.
Fairy tales written in the workshop are collected, proofread, illustrated, and published in an online ‘Fairy Tales of Hope’ library to inspire a global community.

Leading the Change. Roundtable on Sustainable Leadership.

Jørn Haanæs

Associate Partner, Climentum Capital

Sustainability is key in Leading the Change and the Future – we’re turning the spotlight on key attributes and abilities that the future generations of leaders must have in their management and leadership roles.

DisinformACTION Final Conference

The final conference of the DisinformACTION! project marks the culmination of a 24-month collaborative effort by four organizations across Europe to empower youth in combating climate change disinformation. The event will highlight the achievements of the Climate Change Ambassadors program, which successfully enhanced media literacy and e-participation skills among 2140 students and 109 trained teachers. The conference will also showcase the project’s impact on fostering active citizenship and cross-border cooperation in addressing climate and environmental issues.

Guided tour in the Mureș meadow in Arad

Ovidiu Pîrv

Vă invităm la o plimbare prin lunca Mureșului din Arad. Zona s-a renaturat singură, fără ajutor din partea omului. Pe mal au crescut și plopi uriași, monumentali. Conform Legii Arborilor Remarcabili, aceștia trebuie protejați.

Ambassadors - Capace cu Suflet - Climate Change Summit

Join us for an online workshop to promote sustainability through education and collaboration. We’ll focus on expanding recycling and awareness efforts in local communities and developing a common strategy for promoting environmental education and sustainability.

Development of the Bucharest-Ilfov Green Belt Master Plan kick-off meeting

Through a mindful forest walk and get-together in the iconic Vlăsia Woods, the event kick-off the development of the Bucharest-Ilfov Green Belt Master Plan by gathering the main institutional stakeholders responsible for implementing the Bucharest-Ilfov Green Belt, a cornerstone project for the sustainable future of Romania’s capital and its metropolitan area.

Ljubljana Debrief - Climate Change Summit

Ladeja Godina Kosir

Founder and Executive Director of Circular Change

The workshop will focus on the debrief of the Climate Change Summit. We will present and discuss the key takeaways from the Summit.

Regenerative agriculture workshop and field visit at Danone milk suppliers, farmers from Zimnicea.sit.

Learn about regenerative agriculture practices directly from Zimnicea farmers and Danone experts. Visit local milk producers and discover the community investments of Danone in 25 years of local production. Transportation and lunch are provided by Danone. Departure will take place at 08:00 from Bucharest, in front of Gheorghe Șincai National College, across from Tineretului Park, with the return scheduled around 16:00

IKEA's circular practices and sustainable operations

Best practices from IKEA on circular practices and sustainable operations in retail

B Corp Better Business Workshop and Danone factory visit

Learn about what B Corp movement means having Danone CEE Region certification as an example, celebrate Danone Romania 25 years of local production and community investment with a factory visit.

IKEA's circularity and sustainable practices

Best practices from IKEA on circular practices and sustainable operations in the retail sector

Reusable packaging at events in Romania

Fernando Rodríguez-Mata

Managing director, New European Reuse Alliance (New ERA)

Anna Desogus

Network expert for Central & Eastern Europe, Planet Reuse

Alexandru Boncu

Co-founder, ZĂ KUP

Roxana Cojocaru

Executive Director, Social Innovation Solutions

Evenimentele, fie ele mari sau mici, generează deșeuri, în special din consumul de alimente și băuturi. Lucrurile pot fi făcute altfel, folosind ambalaje reutilizabile care reduc impactul asupra mediului al evenimentelor.

Mii de evenimente sunt organizate anual în România — de la festivaluri și concerte internaționale, la evenimente corporate, private sau organizate de instituțiile publice. Implementarea ambalajelor reutilizabile ar putea fi o soluție pentru a reduce consumul de resurse, a minimiza deșeurile, a scădea emisiile de gaze cu efect de seră și, posibil, a reduce costurile și a întări imaginea evenimentului. De asemenea, poate asigura că organizatorii de evenimente sunt pregătiți să respecte reglementările viitoare.

Alăturați-vă nouă, pe 13 noiembrie, pentru a obține o imagine de ansamblu asupra legislației UE privind ambalajele reutilizabile, precum și pentru a învăța din exemple inspiraționale de la evenimente din Europa și din România.

Climathon Budapest

Our Climathon event is a sprint-like competition that takes place over 2 days.
Our target audience is young adults, aged 18-35 years, from various backgrounds and fields of study.
We create the conditions for learning, collaboration and critical thinking, as participants work in teams of 3-4 , to find practical solutions to a real-life challenges.
Expert mentors share knowledge and advice to participants during the event to help them elevate their ideas.
Teams pitch their final solutions to an experienced jury as they compete for the winning prize.

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ESG Leaders Forum Agenda

09:00 - 10:00

Registration and Welcome Coffee

10:00 - 10:15

Introduction and Welcome Address

Ciprian Stănescu, President, Social Innovation Solutions
Philippe Gabulon, CEO Societe Generale Global Solution Centre
Alexandru Mihai Ghigiu, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office

Philippe Thibaud

Deputy CEO, BRD - Groupe Societe Generale

Alexandru Mihai Ghigiu

Head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Romania

Philippe Gabulon

CEO, Societe Generale Global Solution Centre in Romania and Deputy CEO for SG GSC in India

Ciprian Stanescu

President Social innovation Solutions

10:15 - 10:45

Panel 1: Legislation

Codruț Nicolau

Founder, Sustain Future

Elena Cargnello

Member of the Board of Directors | Cogenio

Mihaela Frăsineanu

State Counselor, Prime Minister's Chancellery

10:45 - 11:15

Panel 2: Sustainable Finance & Investment

Aleksandra Palinska

Executive Director at Eurosif

Andrei Gurin

Sustainable Finance Unit, Team Leader – Taxonomy and Reporting, European Commission

Iuliana Tiba

Director Social Environment and Positive Financing Division BRD Groupe Société Générale

11:15 - 11:45

Panel 3: ESG Measurement and Reporting

Alexander Stevens

CEO, Greenomy

Fenya Sourla

Co-founder, COO & ESG Expert at Dataphoria

Kaisa Karjalainen

Director of the Mission Zero Academy (MiZA)

11:45 - 12.30

Panel 4: Examples of Good Practice in Business

Ioana Botezatu

Head of CSR, Societe Generale Global Solution Centre (SG GSC) India and Romania

Raluca Mocanu

Sustainability Leader, IKEA România

Boualem Saidi

Senior Bayer Representative for the Country Group and Managing Director of Bayer SRL Romania

Corina Dospinoiu

Sustainability Director, Auchan Retail Romania

12:30 - 13.00

Coffee Break

13.00 - 14.00

Breakout Sessions (3 simultaneous topics)

Room 1: Legislation
Room 2: How to make Sustainable Financing work (workshop led by Theresa Spandel, on implementation of the CSRD)
Room 3: ESG Measurement and Reporting in Practice (session led by Alexander Stevens)

14.00 - 15.00

Networking Lunch

CEE Climate Connect Agenda

Date: October 17, 2024

Location: Representation of the European Commission in Romania, Lascăr 31 Business Center

Co-organized with the Representation of the European Commission in Romania and the EU Climate Pact, this Climate Change Summit side event is a speed networking session aimed at professionals and key stakeholders in Central and Eastern Europe. It offers a chance to quickly connect with influential people, build new relationships, and explore potential collaborations. The goal is to help participants make valuable connections that can support their work and initiatives in the region.

09:30 – 10:00

Welcome Coffee

An informal opportunity for participants to meet and greet each other over coffee before the session begins.

10:00 – 10:15

Welcome Remarks

Roxana Cojocaru, Executive Director, Social Innovation Solutions
Mara Roman, Deputy Head, Representation of the European Commission in Romania
Ana-Maria Pălăduș, Vice President, REPER21, National Coordinator for the EU Climate Pact in Romania

10:15 – 10:45

Participant Introductions

In this session, each participant will have the opportunity to introduce themselves briefly, sharing their role, the organization they represent, and their key areas of focus related to climate action and sustainability. This session is designed to give attendees a better understanding of who is present and to start identifying potential points of collaboration.

10:45 – 12:00

Facilitated Networking Activities

This interactive segment will guide participants through structured networking exercises, encouraging meaningful exchanges and collaboration opportunities. Activities will include:

  • Speed Networking: A fast-paced series of short, one-on-one conversations where participants can quickly introduce themselves and discuss mutual interests.
  • Group Discussions: Participants will be divided into small groups based on shared topics of interest (such as energy, agriculture, or urban sustainability) to explore ideas and possible synergies.
  • Collaboration Mapping: Using a visual tool, participants will highlight potential collaborations within the group, allowing them to identify common goals and resources that can be shared for future projects.

These activities are designed to help attendees make impactful connections in a short amount of time and foster potential long-term partnerships.

12:00 – 12:30

Lunch

A relaxed networking lunch where participants can continue their conversations and deepen connections made during the morning sessions.

Agenda FEL Energy Trilemma Workshop

13:30 – 14:00

Welcome coffee & networking

An informal opportunity for participants to meet and greet each other over coffee before the session begins.

14:00 – 15:00

Keynote speakers

Olivian Savin – Manager Communication & Marketing FEL Romania
Ștefan Gheorghe – Executive Director CNR-CME
Andrei Gurin – Sustainable Finance Unit, Team Leader – Taxonomy and Reporting, European Commission
Ana Nedea – Director of Strategy & Business Development, SIMTEL Team

15:00 – 15:20

Coffee break

15:20 – 16:30

Energy Trilemma Workshop

Olivian Savin – Manager Communication & Marketing FEL Romania

16:30 – 18:00

Networking wine tasting offered by Simtel Team

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