Urban Future and the Climate Innovation Forum: takeaways from city pioneers

In June, we had the pleasure to attend and speak at Urban Future in Stuttgart, and at the Climate Innovation Forum, the flagship event part of London Climate Action Week. Both events put the spotlight on cities, climate action and sustainability, and we left with inspiring takes on the future of our cities and the transition ahead. 

In this article, you will find some of the highlights of our time at both events, and some city wisdom from pioneers, unafraid to think out-of-the-box. 

Urban Future, Stuttgart, 20th - 23rd July 

Mannheim: Moving from abstract goals to concrete action is possible, with the right tools.  

We were lucky to be invited to speak at Urban Future, in a session called Scrap the Chatter: Get the job done, together with our city champion Mannheim, represented by Mayor Diana Pretzell. The aim of the session was to address the lack of implementation of climate action in cities, and present solutions and tools to move from promises and words, to action and numbers. We were happy to present together with Mannheim, how ClimateOS helps move the needle on implementation. In the words of Diana Pretzell, “when going to council I have the perfect tool to show progress in real time.”

Helsinki: Failing is inevitable. But failing fast and failing better is key. 

In a poignant talk held during Urban Future’s signature city #FuckUpNight, where cities share mistakes made along the way, Kaisa-Reeta Koskinen, Head of Climate Unit at the City of Helsinki, shared how one day, her and her team realized that out of the 147 initiatives she was coordinating, only 6 would actually have an impact in helping the city reach its carbon neutral target by 2030. Needless to say, this was a wake up call for her, who made it her mission to fail faster next time, and always measure. And to always communicate about her mistakes, to help others avoid the same pitfalls.

Climate Innovation Forum, London, 27-28th June  

London: Catastrophe is not inevitable but failure to prepare would be a disaster.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan recently commissioned an independent review into how technology can be used to deal with climate change in the city, setting the tone for discussions around preparedness and innovation at the Climate Innovation Forum, which we were pleased to partner with. On stage with the Deputy Mayor of London, Shirley Rodrigues, the Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees and the leader of Glasgow City Council, Susan Aitken, we were stunned by the leaders’ attitude, resourcefulness and willingness to use every lever at their disposal to adapt, drive emissions down, and do so while maximising other outcomes, in the face of limited powers and funding.

Watch the full panel here: