Making Asheville ‘Climate City’

By Amanda Magnus,

Published March 22, 2018 at 12:12 PM EDT

photo of a man holding a card that says 'asheville is climate city'

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Isaac Pino, one of the 65+ members of The Collider, was among the speakers at the Business of Climate Forum at ClimateCon 2018. He spoke on a panel called "Optimizing Business for a Changing Climate."

Courtesy of The Collider

photo of two young women presenting at a podium, backdrop says 'climate con'

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138 students from Western North Carolina colleges, universities and high schools attended the Summit for Emerging Climate Leaders, part of ClimateCon 2018 in Asheville.

Courtesy of The Collider

photo of two men and two women at a conference site

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The kickoff of ClimateCon 2018 took place on Monday, March 19 at the Orange Peel in downtown Asheville, featuring a welcome to Climate City by Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, shown center.

Courtesy of The Collider

photo of two people talking at a conference session

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In addition to helping attendees identify potential uses and needs for climate adaptation and resilience, a primary goal of ClimateCon 2018 was to help attendees make meaningful contacts and connections.

Courtesy of The Collider

photo of two people presenting on a conference panel

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Zane Adams with Buchi Kombucha offers words of inspiration to attendees at the Summit for Emerging Climate Leaders about how the local, sustainability focused business, started by two young women, has grown into a nationally recognized company.

Courtesy of The Collider

This month Asheville hosted the first ClimateCon, a conference to explore innovations and business solutions to combat the effects of climate change. The nine-day conference included a business of climate forum, a summit for emerging climate leaders, and community-wide events.

Host Frank Stasio talks to Blue Ridge Public Radio reporter Helen Chickering about the major takeaways from the conference. They are also joined by Josh Dorfman, the head of Venture Asheville and the incoming CEO for The Collider, who hosted the conference. Dorfman believes Asheville should adopt the identity “Climate City,” as its environmentally-friendly reputation is already attracting green business to the area. The city is also home to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, which provides a wealth of data and human capital related to climate science in the area.