Our Year in Action


Over the past year, the Fashion, Energy, and Climate Network has convened thought leaders, scholars, and practitioners through a series of five dynamic events. From deep dives into the circular economy and fashion policy to cultural dialogues at the intersection of fashion, energy and climate change, these gatherings were hosted in collaboration with partners including SIPA, Yale, and other leading sustainability focused initiatives. In addition to hosting panels and exchanges, our team continues to expand its capacity through launching new research findings and representing the network at events both home and abroad.

Upcoming Events

Fashion in the Energy Transition Talk Series

The Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia SIPA and the Fashion, Energy, and Climate Network invite you to join the first session of our new talk series: Fashion in the Energy Transition, designed to connect the fashion and apparel value chain to the broader energy transition and climate change agenda. 

Fashion is frequently discussed through the lens of material, circularity, and consumer behavior, but many of the most consequential drivers of the emission, as well as opportunities for change, sit upstream in the energy system, including fuels and power that enable manufacturing, industrial heat, and global logistics. This series brings CGEP scholars into conversation with students to explore how energy policy, technology, and geopolitics shape fashion supply chains, and why fashion deserves a clearer place in energy transition discussions.

Past events

  • February 2026

    Fashion in the Energy Transition : Session 1| Phasing Out Fossil Fuels and China’s Role

    The Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia SIPA and the Fashion, Energy, and Climate Network hosted their first session of the new talk series: Fashion in the Energy Transition, designed to connect the fashion and apparel value chain to the broader energy transition and climate change agenda. 

    The first session, “Phasing Out Fossil Fuels and China’s Role,” featured Dr. Erica Downs and Sally Qiu in a moderated, interactive discussion on what a global fossil fuel transition could mean for fashion and apparel supply chains, and the importance of China’s role. .

  • December 2025

    Digital Innovation in Reducing Fashion Waste

    This panel discussion, cohosted by Impact Fashion and the Fashion, Energy and Climate Network, explored how digital innovation is transforming the fashion industry’s approach to waste reduction and circularity. Featuring industry experts and sustainability leaders, the event highlighted emerging technologies that help minimize material waste and extend product lifecycles.

    The session included a moderated panel conversation, followed by an interactive Q&A with the audience.

  • September 2025

    Transforming Fashion’s Footprint: Innovation and Business

    Transforming Fashion’s Footprint: Innovation and Business dug deeper into key challenges and opportunities for climate and energy transition actions in the fashion sector. Although various efforts had been made to estimate fashion’s environmental footprint, major gaps still remained in how to decarbonize material production and reshape business practices. The first session explored cutting-edge materials innovations where the biggest contributions could be made in reducing the largest share of the fashion value chain’s carbon emissions. The second session turned to business models, examining how fashion could bridge the gap between academic research and real-world enterprise and what strategies had proven effective in scaling sustainability while maintaining commercial viability.

    Speakers

    Inka Apter, Senior Director of Materials and Circularity, Eileen Fisher | Christina Castle, Senior Manager, Impact & Product Sustainability, DÔEN | Michelle Gabriel, Lecturer, Columbia Climate School | Kelley Kizzier, Director of Corporate Action and Markets, Bezos Earth Fund | Sandra Goldmark, Associate Dean for Engagement and Impact, Columbia Climate School | Amy Jaffe, Director, Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab, NYU | Kevin Karl, Co-Director, Fashion, Energy, and Climate Network, Columbia Climate School | Sarah Kent, Chief Sustainability Correspondent, Business of Fashion | Lewis Perkins, President and CEO, Apparel Impact Institute | Miguel Modestino, Director, Sustainable Engineering Initiative, NYU Tandon | Stwart Peña Feliz, Co-Founder & CEO, MacroCycle Technologies | Sally Qiu, Co-Director, Fashion, Energy, and Climate Network, Columbia Climate School | Indré Rockefeller, Founder, The Circularity Project | Jon Veldhouse, CEO, Qore

  • April 2025

    Culture for Climate: Bridging Art, Fashion, and Education

    Co-hosted by Four Earth Networks at Columbia Climate School, the event explored the intersection of creativity and climate action through two dynamic panel discussions on how climate issues are embedded in creative industries and careers, and on building purpose-driven paths in fashion, sports, and education. It also featured a student showcase presenting innovative low-waste fashion design, a guide to secondhand shopping in NYC, and digital art critiquing the fashion industry.

  • February 2025

    Sustainable Fashion Exchange

    Over 100 students, alumni, researchers, and industry professionals gathered for an evening of inspiring dialogue and networking around sustainable fashion. Co-hosted by Four Earth Networks at Columbia Climate School and Yale’s Moving the Needle, the event opened with remarks from Sandra Goldmark, who emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary and institutional collaboration. A panel discussion featuring Michelle Gabriel, Kevin Karl, Dr. Meital Mizrachi, and Sally Qiu provided insights into sustainability and creative industries. The evening concluded with post-panel networking, including icebreaker activities and community-building discussions.

  • November 2024

    Role of policy in circular fashion

    We were thrilled to host an insightful discussion on the “Role of Policy in Supporting Circular Fashion” with the Ethical Fashion Working Group at SIPA and Earth Networks’ Fashion, Energy, and Climate at Columbia Climate School. Amy Myers Jaffe, a distinguished leader in energy, climate policy, and sustainability, shared her expertise on the policy drivers shaping the future of sustainable fashion. As Co-Chair of CGEP’s Women in Energy Steering Committee and Director of the Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab at NYU, Jaffe brought invaluable insights from her extensive experience in academia and policy advisory roles.

  • September 2024

    Renewing Fashion: Clean Energy and Circular Economy

    This event brought together leading voices driving fashion’s clean and circular transition to address these pressing issues. The panel explored how to phase out fossil fuels, curb oversupply, scale textile-to-textile recycling, align global goals with local policies, and finance the industry’s transformation. Speakers also shared best practices and strategies for creating a sustainable, net-positive future for fashion.

    The discussion tackled key questions such as the role of clean energy in circularity, the most effective strategies to scale fabric recycling, approaches to reduce oversupply through design and behavior change, and the financing mechanisms needed to support this transition.

    Speakers included:
    Maxine Bédat (The New Standard Institute), Tricia Carey (Transformers Foundation, Accelerating Circularity), Sandra Goldmark (Columbia Climate School), Amy Jaffe (Columbia University & NYU), Sarah Kent (The Business of Fashion), Dennis Nobelius (Syre), and Nicolaj Reffstrup (GANNI). The session was moderated by Sally Qiu, Co-Director of the Fashion, Energy, and Climate Network.