Climate Week Zurich 2027: Official Partners Kick-Off Event

What does meaningful progress towards a sustainable future actually look like – and who needs to be part of making it happen?

These were among the questions at the heart of last week's Climate Week Zurich (CWZ) 2027 Kick-Off at EY, where representatives from business, academia, and civil society came together to reflect on the next chapter of Climate Week Zurich.

As an official Community Partner, the Competence Center for Sustainability: Finance, Law, Sciences, and the Humanities (CCS) was pleased to be part of the conversation.

The first edition of CWZ has already demonstrated the power of bringing people together:

• 244 partner organizations
• 270+ events
• 16,000+ participants
• 74 countries
• 29+ million people reached on social media

And the ambition for 2027 is to build on this momentum, with four focus streams and flagship events:

• Finance & Insurance

• Agriculture & Food

• Healthcare & Pharma

• Technology, Energy & Infrastructure

But beyond the numbers, one question kept resurfacing throughout the Kick-Off: How do we turn knowledge and climate propositions into meaningful action?

Following inspiring contributions from Mark Veser (EY), Joschka J. Proksik (Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute), Tamaki Bieri (CWZ), Christian Leitz (UBS), Aloisa Predota (Nestlé), and Kieran Dobson (S&P Global), participants explored this question across nine breakout groups.

For the Data, Transparency & Proving Impact group, three priorities emerged: data collection, frameworks, and implementation. 

Yet there is another piece to the puzzle: making data and research accessible and meaningful to those who can act on it. That means rethinking not only what we communicate, but also how we bring people together. Rather than relying exclusively on traditional panel discussions, we need more roundtables, discussion circles, and collaborative working groups – spaces where researchers, activists, policymakers, affected communities, and private-sector stakeholders can exchange perspectives on an equal footing. After all, the people who hold the data, those who make the decisions, and those who experience the consequences do not always sit at the same table.

Bridging that gap is essential. Finding a shared language across disciplines and lived experiences is not always easy, but it is precisely through this exchange that more equitable and effective solutions can emerge. The next Climate Week Zurich is an opportunity to make that happen, and we look forward to contributing to the conversation in 2027.