With more than 100 speakers from all over the world, the global sustainability conference enabled changemakers, innovators, and climate experts to network and exchange the latest innovation within the sector
EUROPE: A leading sustainability summit, Planetiers World Gathering has today concluded its three-day conference. Over 100 changemakers, innovators, and climate experts worldwide gathered in Aveiro, this year’s Portuguese Capital of Culture, from 27 to 29 October 2024. With a focus on culture and sustainability, the conference welcomed over 70 startups and several panel discussions highlighting pressing challenges in sustainability and raising awareness of the need for long-term solutions to counteract global issues. First launched in 2020, Planetiers World Gathering aims to help changemakers connect and highlight long-term sustainable solutions amid the climate crisis.
Relevant topics of this year’s Planetiers World Gathering included sustainable investment, diversity and inclusion, regenerative agriculture, health and wellness, circular economy, AI, and more. Also, 200 students from schools in Aveiro attended the conference showing the importance of those topics to the new generation. After four years of successful events, Planetiers World Gathering has become a hub for sustainability discussions and positioned Portugal as an attractive country for environmental investment.
The first day of the event, 27 October, featured several green experiences, workshop sessions, and networking opportunities. The Green Experiences Area for direct product testing offered an exclusive look at new solutions and products and continued throughout the whole conference. The first day of the event was focused on family-friendly green experiences, such as electric kart rides, e-bike, and e-scooter testing. Workshops and networking sessions were also a highlight as they addressed major environmental-related challenges such as reforestation, climate impact, and the principles of slow living and minimalism. By connecting knowledge with action, participants were equipped with the tools to contribute meaningfully to the global climate movement.
During the summit’s second day, 28 October, panel discussions explored several topics such as AI for impact, sustainable tourism, education and entrepreneurship, forest, food systems, and land use, and more. Renowned speakers included Rob Hopkins from the Transition Movement, Ermi Van Oers from Nova Innova, Christoph Langwallner of WhatIF Foods, and many more. Mayor of Aveiro, José Ribau Esteves opened Day 2 and Secretary of State for Maritime Affairs, Lídia Bulcão said, “The blue economy represents, not just an economic opportunity, but also a collective responsibility, to ensure that growth is sustainable, inclusive, and aligned with our commitments to future generations. In this regard, environmental, social, and governance principles are fundamental to Portugal’s approach to ocean governance and sustainable development.”
On the final day, Thorsten Harstall, Director of Brand Sustainability Strategy at Adidas, presented a welcome video where he outlined brand sustainability trends and future innovation opportunities in sports fashion. International mentorship was also available through workshops and networking, enabling participants to collaborate, share, and discuss disruptive innovations and business opportunities that have the potential to help solve major climate-related challenges. Universities, businesses, entrepreneurs, policy-makers, journalists, and investors joined to support high-impact projects and network on an international level.
Other key highlights included panel discussions on:
- Sustainable Tourism and the Cities of Tomorow with Jorge Cristino, Partner at Get2C, Carolina Mendonça, Azores DMO, Roberto Antunes from NEST – Tourism Innovation Center Portugal, and Miguel Plantier of Hotel Sublime Comporta, where they discussed sustainable initiatives within the tourism and hospitality sectors.
- Energy and Water – Two major challenges of the century with Catarina Canelas, CNN journalist, Paul Peterson of Air Joule, and Paulo Santos, Sustainability and Mobility Director at ADENE.
- AI for Impact with André Veríssimo, journalist from the Eco-business digital newspaper, Alexandre Karim, Product Design consultant, Ricardo Santos from AssetFloow, and Aline Fróes of Vai na Web, where they discussed the latest AI developments and their impact on sustainability and climate change.
- Fashion Forward: Pioneering Sustainability in Style with Thorsten Harstall from Adidas, Patrícia Oliveira-Silva, Professor of Education and Psychology from the University of Porto, and Aleksandra Gosiewski from Keel Labs, where they explored sustainability challenges and solutions within the world of fashion.
- Sustainable Investment & Business Opportunities with Dina Storey, Dubai expert, ESG Partner and Impact Centre Lead for Energy Utilities, and Resources, Pedro Santos Guerreiro, CNN journalist, Rodrigo Sá from Roots Ventures, André de Almeida Santos from Indico Capital.
- Deploying Our Consciousness to Find Sustainable Development, a keynote from influencer Andja Lorein outlining the intersection of sustainability and wellness.
Commenting on the 2024 Planetiers World Gathering event, Founder and CEO, Sérgio Ribeiro said: “We are delighted to have completed another successful edition of the Planetiers World Gathering in Aveiro. Sustainability and technology discussions are of utmost importance in the current context with new solutions being created every day to help humanity tackle major climate change challenges and ensure a brighter future for society as a whole. Bringing policymakers, experts, and startups together is essential to move these discussions forward and encourage innovation for change.”
All panel discussions and talks were live-streamed here. The Planetiers World Gathering 2024 took place from 27-29 October at the Centro de Congressos de Aveiro in Aveiro, Portugal.
About Planetiers World Gathering
Planetiers World Gathering is the largest global sustainability-focused innovation event in the world. Founded in 2020, this year’s conference will take place from October 27th to 29th 2024 in Aveiro, Portugal. The summit is focused on finding long-term sustainable solutions for helping the global environment and the gathering will bring together key stakeholders in sustainability and innovation from across the world. Over thousands of virtual and in-person visitors and over 100 speakers from 100 different countries are expected to attend. The core ambition for Planetiers World Gathering is for everyone to collectively work towards finding sustainable solutions to help save the planet. For further information, please visit Worldgathering.planetiers.com
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