Your ChiCW Questions, Answered

Anyone can host an event during ChiCW. We welcome individuals, nonprofits, businesses, academic institutions, community organizations, and government agencies from across Chicagoland and the broader Midwest. If you have an idea for a climate-oriented event, we encourage you to submit it.

ChiCW welcomes events of all formats, sizes, and topics, as long as they are oriented around climate action, sustainability, or related themes. Event formats can include panels, workshops, networking mixers, film screenings, community activations, tours, and more. Events can be in-person, virtual, or hybrid.

All events are submitted through the Event Submission Form. Your concept does not need to be fully finalized to submit - early interest submissions are welcome, and our team will follow up from there.

Absolutely - if you have a climate-related event happening July 18–25, we'd love to include it. You don't need to have planned it as part of ChiCW for it to be part of the moment. Submit it through the event form and we'll add it to the calendar and help promote it to the broader ChiCW audience.

We're also including select lead-in events starting as early as July 15. If your event falls between the 15th and the 18th, feel free to submit it for consideration.

Not really. If your event is climate-related, falls within the week, and you can run it yourself - consider it in. We'll reach out if we think something's missing, if there's a question about fit, or if we see an opportunity to connect you with someone else who's submitted something complementary.

This is expected and intentional. ChiCW is a distributed, layered week - events happen in parallel across different times, formats, and neighborhoods. Not everyone attends full days, and that's the point.

The one intentional exception: we've kept Tuesday and Wednesday open on the calendar out of respect for Aspen Ideas: Climate, which anchors those days. We encourage organizers to plan around that window.

If we notice significant clustering at certain times with open opportunities elsewhere in the week, we may reach out to explore whether adjustments make sense - but only with the organizer's consent.

Submitting early also helps us give you a clearer picture of how the week is shaping up around your event.

Yes! Organizations and individuals are welcome to host multiple events during the week. Simply submit a separate form for each event you'd like to register.

The event submission form will remain open through July 14, 2026. That said, we encourage you to submit as early as possible so your event has maximum visibility on the calendar.

Listing your event on the ChiCW calendar is completely free. Event organizers are responsible for all aspects of planning and hosting their events, including operations, safety, and any required insurance.

Chicago Climate Week serves as a platform to promote independently organized events. By submitting an event, organizers acknowledge that ChiCW does not manage or oversee event execution and assumes no responsibility or liability for individual events.

Once an event is submitted, ChiCW works to connect organizers with the people and resources they need to bring their events to life. This includes facilitating connections with other organizers who may share your vision or have complementary resources, and working to match you with interested venues, speakers, vendors, volunteers, and sponsors from our growing network. Event organizers retain full creative control and are responsible for all planning, logistics, and execution of their events.