Join Orchestra Marketing for this Toronto Climate Week flagship event exploring how we move the narrative from cost to opportunity; from preventing disaster to producing profit and building better lives in the process. Through candid panels, hands on workshops and open conversations, we'll explore the necessity and way to communicate that action to counter climate change impact is an ROI-positive one, not an economic sacrifice.

Expect honest dialogue, practical takeaways and a networking happy hour to close out the day.

Agenda:

1:00 | Registration & Mingle

1:30 | Welcome Remarks & Fireside Chat from Orchestra Marketing's CEO, Jocelyn Butler and Works Design's Chief Sustainability Officer & Principal, Wesley Gee

How do we prevent greenwashing as agency and brands by applying high level principles that lend themselves to effective and accurate communication practices at all levels of an organization.

2:15 | The Conscious Consumer Myths: What Brands Get Wrong (and What Works)

This talk reveals why common assumptions about ethical shoppers are outdated, who is driving the shift, and what truly influences purchase decisions today.
Drawing on new research from Public Inc, it challenges the idea that conscious consumption is niche, declining, or purely values-driven — and uncovers a much broader, more complex audience hiding in plain sight.
Attendees will leave with a fresh perspective on how to connect with this evolving consumer and why the brands winning right now are rewriting the rules of impact, messaging, and growth.
- Caleigh Farrell, Public Inc , VP Research

3:00 | Refreshment Break

3:15 | Planning for the Pivot: Agility in Municipal Climate Communications

Municipal climate policy is being implemented in a rapidly changing environment. From affordability pressures and political change to stakeholder resistance and shifting public priorities, municipalities increasingly need communications strategies that can evolve in real time. This conversation explores the importance of agility in climate communications, including lessons from building emissions policy, stakeholder engagement, public opinion research and the realities of building support though uncertainty and change.
- Sarah Roberton, Environics Research, SVP Corporate & Public Affairs
- Sarah Rodrigues, City of Toronto, Senior Project Manager

3:45 | Lightning Talks & Workshops

Telling the Climate Story: Building a Communications Plan for Climate Initiatives
- Communicating climate initiatives is no longer just about visibility. It is about credibility, reputation, and trust. As organizations work to tell their sustainability story, organizations must strike the right balance between promoting progress and ensuring claims reflect reality.
  - Katie Allen, Tartanbond, VP
  - Bojana Duric, Tartanbond, Director
The Brief Has been Wrong All Along
- Most sustainability communications fail not because audiences don’t care, but because the brief starts from the wrong relationship. It leads with the planet instead of the person. It sells instead of invites. It asks for guilt instead of offering gain. In this interactive session, we’ll diagnose what’s broken, show what the best brands are doing differently, and give you one structural shift to bring back to your team. Expect live polls, real brand cases, and one question to ask before you approve your next campaign.
  - Anne-Marie Brouillette , Collective Matter, Founder & Creative Director
How to Talk So the Middle Will Listen: Reaching the Climate Persuadables
- Most people aren’t climate activists…or climate deniers. They’re the broad middle: concerned, curious, skeptical, busy, or simply unconvinced that climate action matters to them right now. So how do we reach the people in between? Through a hands-on empathy mapping exercise, Environics Research will use Social Values to explore what motivates the “mushy middle” and how to craft messages that resonate with their priorities, identities, and everyday realities. Uncover how to shift climate conversations from sacrifice and cost to relevance, opportunity, and better lives. Ideal for those looking to move beyond preaching to the converted and start connecting with the audiences that matter most.
  - Michele Cunningham, Environics Research, VP Strategy & Insight
  - Susan Seto, Environics Research, SVP, Market Strategy
The Inclusion Council: How to Connect & Build with Marginalized Communities Affected by Climate Change
- Conversations, action plans and even policy around climate change have been happening for as long as we can remember--but what persists is the exclusion/limitation of marginalized voices at all levels of stakeholder participation, even as said communities experience the worst effects of climate change. We'll talk about how cultural intelligence not only helps to clarify how to connect with communities and address their needs, but also builds a real foundation of trust and confidence--and moves the real actions to address the issues surrounding climate change and its effects on daily life for everyone.
  - June Findlay, Little Kernel Communications, Brand, Content and Cultural Strategist

Additional workshops to be announced soon!

5:00 | Happy Hour Networking

Let's continue the conversation over some drinks & snacks

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Location

Please register to see the exact location of this event.

Toronto, Canada

Presented by

Orchestra Marketing

Hosted By

Climate