NEW YORK — FINN Partners brought together about 54 speakers from around the world Sept. 23 for its third annual Climate and Sustainability Leadership Forum, timed to coincide with Climate Week NYC and the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Organized with 1BusinessWorld, the forum featured a day of virtual discussions beginning at 8 a.m. EDT and concluded with an in-person networking reception at FINN Partners’ New York offices.
Global Sustainability Agenda
Speakers and participants represented climate, sustainability, energy, finance, education and media, highlighting the cross-sector partnerships shaping the global sustainability agenda.
Christina Raish, vice president and chief of staff of FINN Partners’ Purpose, Social Impact and Health practice, led planning for the forum.
Raish said the event was designed to give colleagues, thought leaders and partners a platform to present their work and perspectives during Climate Week.
Christina Raish, Finn Partners Vice President, Chief of Staff
“This is a platform for colleagues, thought leaders and friends to share their voice, thoughts and work during Climate Week,” Raish said.
Participants joined from the United States, Europe, Israel, Australia, Myanmar, Malaysia and India, giving the program an international reach.
Organizers deliberately avoided a single conference theme, Raish said, giving presenters room to address a wider range of issues.
The approach allowed discussions to move across business, finance, education, energy, social impact and communications rather than remain within a predetermined topic.
The breadth of the agenda reflected how climate and sustainability increasingly intersect with economic, social and communications priorities.
Raish said the forum’s value extended beyond its formal sessions.
At the evening reception, she praised the FINN Partners team and emphasized the need for spaces where people can engage across differences at a time of growing division and disconnection.
Gatherings such as the forum show the value of bringing people from different backgrounds together for substantive conversations, she said.
Bringing diverse leaders together to exchange ideas and experience is essential to advancing change, Raish said.
The reception allowed speakers, guests, FINN Partners colleagues and members of the media to continue discussions from the day’s sessions and build new connections.
Climate Week NYC
Held during Climate Week NYC and the U.N. General Assembly, the forum underscored the role of communication and collaboration in moving climate, sustainability and social-impact work forward.
The event’s central message was straightforward: Progress depends on creating space for people with different experiences and perspectives to listen, engage and work together.
Lyndon Taylor is the Founder and CEO of Lyndon Taylor & Associates, a boutique media and public relations consulting agency in New York City. With an illustrious career as an award-winning journalist and public relations consultant, he has been a contributor to various community and Diaspora publications.
