Patricia Imbarus has lived and worked in Lisbon for over a decade, becoming an integral part of its vibrant sustainability ecosystem and fostering collaboration among startups, research institutions, and businesses.
Throughout her career as an entrepreneur and climate consultant, she has mainly moved in the shadows to help other sustainable projects thrive, but this time, she’s come from behind the curtain. And she’s armed with a killer Rolodex of top minds in the sustainability game and is combining her business strategy and innovation acumen with her passion for supporting sustainable initiatives and climate-related projects.
Enter the third edition of the Ethical Assembly: a hyper-focused meeting of the minds, free from the clutches of big businesses that stand to gain from setting the agenda.
When it comes to big industry events, conferences, and trade shows focused on climate and sustainability, both here and abroad, you can’t help but notice that they are sponsored by the world’s top polluters: oil and gas companies, fast-moving consumer goods companies, luxury fashion brands, and so on. Expensive sponsorship packages only accessible by these business giants lead to keynote speaker slots and control of the program — and a definite gap in NGO or scientific representation that could harm the sponsor’s reputation.
“There’s a disconnect between the sustainability-focused agenda — the kind of content you see on stage — and the entities who are powering them. Aside from the massive sponsorship packages these events charge, they also operate on a pay-to-play model,” Patricia told Atlas. “One of our speakers recently told me that they were going to pay €10K to be on a panel where they had about seven minutes of speaking time. For a smaller NGO, that’s prohibitively expensive, so we get a one-sided narrative, and a vague one at that.”
“With a business model like that, you’re missing out on a great diversity of voices and solutions championed by early-stage start-ups, research institutions, Indigenous communities, grassroots projects, activist networks, citizen networks, etcetera,” she said.
As climate science shows, we are heading towards complete climate collapse unless we correct course immediately at scale and at speed, so factor in climate anxiety (it’s a thing!), determination, and hope into the mix, and you’ve found Patricia’s recipe to keep her focused and awake at the wheel.
She said, “It’s mind-boggling. You go to these events hoping to be inspired and learn new things, wanting to connect with truly like-minded people and projects that are moving the needle in a significant way. Instead, you end up having the same old conversations. A lot of greenwashing, a lot of lobbying. We simply don’t have any more time for that.”
So is this really the best we can do? Maybe it’s just the best we have done so far, now that October 2nd and 3rd is approaching, and the next edition of the Ethical Assembly is set to kick off at the Beato Innovation District with an uncompromising stance and a killer lineup of speakers and partners, with an aim to fight the good fight with no greenwashing, no waste, and no bullshit; where every piece of the puzzle would pass the Greta Thunberg test.
Patricia told Atlas, “I’ve had the incredible opportunity and privilege over the last 10 years to meet phenomenal people and projects from all over the world that are truly committed, that work so hard day in, day out to make a significant impact and to leave a better legacy for the future generations. Imagine what can happen if you bring them together under one roof. We are democratizing access to the climate conversation in a way that’s solutions-driven, inclusive, and open so we can collectively address these challenges.”
As the Ethical Assembly continues to organize, there have been incredible obstacles to hurdle and a significant financial risk it is taking on as the organizers are actively declining sponsorship from unethical corporations and big polluters. So, we invite the Atlas community to come together to get involved, offer support, and help turn the tables. Buy a ticket (Atlas readers can get 15% OFF with the code ATLASEA2024), or offer a donation or in-kind/financial sponsorship, or just spread the word.
Two main stages at the Beato Innovation District will be running in parallel, hosting 150 speakers, 70 sessions, and a maximum of 1,000 attendees. Other areas in the district will be dedicated to workshops, labs, networking, a climate café, and around a dozen art and photography showcases by local and international artists connected to climate and social justice issues. And add in over 20 short and documentary film screenings, including the Portuguese premier of the film Soil, and an address by actress and author Lily Cole (of Star Wars fame) along with other top names in the game.
But that’s not where it ends: Patricia intends to keep the party going after the doors close.
“Two or three days is not enough to dive so deeply into topics like systems change, climate and social justice, gender equity, and human rights. So, this year we’re extending the programming off stage into the following four days after the event. Between the 4th and 8th of October, we’ve prepared exciting side events that are accessible to the community like lab trips, a diving and beach cleanup outing, a wild foraging workshop, a beekeeping workshop, a climate frisk class, and more.” It’s something that we’re incredibly proud and grateful for, that our partners are making themselves available to our community. ”
“We want everybody to feel included, to be able to access content and draw value from it, and be inspired to make a meaningful contribution to the climate conversation. We need all hands on deck and we need a diversity of solutions, so everybody’s very much welcome to join us,” she said.
Pro tip: This event was designed to cater to both professionals and also a more general kind of audience. Therefore, between 10h and 17h, the event intends to focus on industry professionals, but from 17h to 21h, the space opens to the ticket-holding public for a more relaxed atmosphere, with documentary premieres, art showcases, drinks, and music, alongside main stage sessions and workshops running until 21h on both days. So, plan your calendar accordingly—and let’s get this party started.
