climate week NYC 2026: three dinners, a clubhouse and a lot of coffee

Climate Week NYC ran from September 20 to 27, and chilli was there for the second year in a row. Last year we threw open the doors of the Downtown Climate Club at The Bench. This year we kept the downtown spirit and went smaller: fewer panels, more time with the creators who move their audiences on climate every single day.

three dinners, three fights

Climate Week is wall-to-wall panels where you barely get to talk to the person next to you. So we did the opposite: small, invite-only dinners. No stage. Just a table, good food, and the conversations that usually get cut short.

• the impact creator dinner with earthly (Tuesday, September 22, in the West Village): creators moving their audiences on climate and social justice, swapping strategies and what's frustrating them right now, off camera.
• the Amazon dinner with Health in Harmony (Wednesday, September 23): Health in Harmony works with rainforest communities on the ground, chilli works with the creators who move people to care and act. This dinner put both in the same room.
• the water dinner with Water Hub (Wednesday, September 23): advocates from across the country fighting for healthy rivers and closing the water access and affordability gap, with creators who connect water to climate, health, justice and joy.

Same recipe every night: a photographer, a DJ, a little gifting, and a table mixing creators already on chilli with creators we'd been hoping to meet for a long time. Creators who use chilli shared the wins they got with their community, and the conversation took it from there.

a clubhouse for impact creators

Last year we noticed something at The Bench. Between events, creators kept dropping by just to charge their phone, answer emails and catch their breath. Climate Week is a marathon, and there was nowhere to pause.

So this year we went back to The Bench and opened the chilli clubhouse: a place to work, recharge, grab a coffee and a bite on us, and meet other impact creators between two events. Creators and partner organisations hosted their own salons there all week too.

what we took home

Building chilli has taught us one thing, and we heard it again all week: people don't need more facts to care about climate and social issues. They need an easy route to take their first action.

Creators have the audience and the trust. What's missing is the step between people who watch and people who act. That's the step chilli gives you: one link where your followers send the email, make the call or back your work, and then hear what it changed.

met us in New York?

Thank you. For the dinners, the late nights between events and the honest feedback. If we met at a dinner or at the clubhouse, we'll be in touch over the next weeks.

Didn't make it? Same deal. Your first action takes fifteen minutes: how to create your first action on chilli, step by step. See you next September.