Communications Leaders Put Trust and Reputation at the Center of Climate Week NYC 2026

Climate Week NYC is back, bringing more than 100,000 people and 1,000 events to New York for one of the biggest climate gatherings in the world.

On Friday, September 25, CommPRO will bring the conversation directly to communications leaders with Communications Leadership at Climate Week NY: Reputation, Sustainability, Stakeholder Trust, an in-person town hall from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Baker Tilly x Anchin, 3 Times Square in New York City.

This year’s Climate Week is focused on energy, impact and action. For communicators, there is another word that belongs on that list: trust.

Companies are under growing pressure to show what they are actually doing on sustainability, not simply what they are saying. At the same time, communicators are navigating concerns about greenwashing, greenhushing, misinformation, changing stakeholder expectations and the very real business considerations behind climate commitments. That is what we want to talk about.

Leaders from Kenvue, PepsiCo, Mars, Cargill, World Wildlife Fund, FINN Partners and Stanton Communications, among others, will be part of the conversation.

Held under Chatham House Rules, the town hall is designed to be just that: a conversation. There will be no long presentations or scripted answers. We want people to speak openly about what they are seeing, what is working and where the challenges remain.

How do you talk about sustainability when every claim can be questioned? How do companies show progress without overstating it? What happens when climate goals and business realities don't neatly align? And what role should communications leaders play before decisions are made, not just after?

“Climate Week gives us a wonderful opportunity to get communications leaders in the same room and have a real conversation,” said Fay Shapiro, publisher of CommPRO. “There are no easy answers here. That’s exactly why we need to talk with each other, share what we’re learning and look at how communications can help build trust.”

Last year, CommPRO’s Climate Week Town Hall brought PR and communications leaders together to talk candidly about greenwashing, accountability and the growing challenge of communicating climate issues credibly.

This year, we’re taking that conversation further.

Reputation, sustainability and stakeholder trust are increasingly connected. Communications leaders are often right in the middle of it, helping organizations understand what stakeholders expect while making sure the stories they tell are grounded in what the organization is actually doing.

That is why we’re bringing people together again during Climate Week. Not for another panel. For a conversation we need to be having.