2021 Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit: Accelerating the Path to 2030

The year 2030 has been cited as a deadline by which the impacts of catastrophic climate change will be irreversible. But what if we imagine innovative solutions for healthier people and communities? Launch green policies that lead to stronger, more resilient regions? Create a built environment that lowers rather than increases our climate footprint and support a vibrant, thriving landscape? It is both possible and attainable.

About the Summit:

Each year, Green Umbrella, Greater Cincinnati’s regional sustainability alliance, partners with the City of Cincinnati, the Brueggeman Center for Dialogue at Xavier University, Hamilton County Planning and Development, and the Greater Cincinnati Green Business Council, to present this three-day conference that shares the latest ideas and best practices in environmental sustainability at the regional level.

The Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit is the region’s premier sustainability conference! The Summit brings together businesses, government representatives, experts, non-profits, and residents committed to building a more environmentally sustainable and economically vibrant region.

The summit seeks to widen the table for discussion around the issue of environmental sustainability by facilitating thoughtful discussion, sharing best practices, celebrating the work that is currently being done in sustainability throughout the Midwest, and identifying areas for future regional collaboration.

Keynote Speaker: Joan Fitzgerald

GRI Faculty Affiliate Joan Fitzgerald, is a Professor of Urban and Public Policy at Northeastern University. She focuses on urban climate action and strategies for linking it to equity, economic development, and innovation. In her fourth book, Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change (Oxford Univ. Press, 2020), she argues that the climate strategies of too many cities represent random acts of greenness rather than integrated and aggressive action. She points to leading cities in North America and Europe and offers strategies for lagging cities to accelerate their action. Her ongoing Climate Just Cities Project examines strategies for post-Covid urban climate action to emphasize equity. She blogs on viral inequality and urban climate action on Planetizen.

The event will take place, Wednesday, May 12 to Friday, May 14, 2021. To see full agenda and register, click here.