2026 Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit: Call for Participation

This form is used to submit proposals for participation at the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit, such as an interactive workshop, a panel discussion, a performance piece, artwork, or an informative poster.

About the Summit:

The Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit is the largest sustainability conference in the Midwest, bringing together 650 passionate and visionary leaders to share inspiring, forward-thinking, and solution-oriented ideas that propel us toward a healthier, more resilient, sustainable, and equitable future. Join Fortune 500 powerhouses, innovative entrepreneurs, government officials, sustainability directors, academic, non-profit, and community leaders committed to solving some of the region’s toughest environmental problems while creating a positive economic impact.

www.midwestsustainabilitysummit.org/

​The 13th annual Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit will be held on June 12, 2026 at the Sharonville Convention Center (15 miles north of Cincinnati, OH).

2026 SUMMIT THEME: Adapt Today, Thrive Tomorrow

Adapt Today, Thrive Tomorrow calls us to put resilience into practice—to not only withstand the shocks of our time, but to evolve and thrive through them. Across the Midwest, communities are already grappling with extreme weather, shifting economies, and growing social and political divides. Changing political priorities, the rapid emergence of AI, the spread of misinformation, and the erosion of shared truths all test our ability to navigate uncertainty with clarity and purpose. This year’s Summit asks: How do we adapt today so we can thrive tomorrow? How can we—across sectors and systems—build the agility, creativity, and collective strength needed to endure disruption, accelerate innovation, and sustain progress in an increasingly complex and polarized world?

To thrive tomorrow, we must ignite real change today. That means strengthening the resilience of individuals, organizations, and communities; cultivating solutions that endure; and working together across differences to build lasting capacity and shared impact. At the same time, we must keep working to reduce the impacts that drive climate change—cutting emissions, restoring ecosystems, and reimagining how we power and sustain our communities. Adapt Today, Thrive Tomorrow is a call to leaders in business, government, education, and the nonprofit sector to embrace transformative collaboration in the face of change. By adapting with intention and acting with courage and connection, we can move beyond resilience to create a future where the Midwest not only weathers uncertainty—it grows stronger because we rose to meet it, together.

We invite proposals for panel discussions and interactive workshops that align with our 2026 theme, across a wide range of climate-related issue areas:

* Healthy & Resilient Communities
* Business & Green, Circular economy
* Government & Policy
* Healthy, High-Performing Infrastructure
* Active Transportation, Public Transit & Micromobility
* Resilient Local Food Systems
* Climate Justice, Equity and Inclusion
* Green Workforce Development
* Emergency Preparedness

PROPOSAL TIMELINE:

The call for speakers is now open!

We receive 100+ proposals each year and highly recommend that you:
1. Read the submission guidelines carefully and create a proposal that fits the theme and features speakers that bring a diversity of perspectives.
2. Meet with us in advance to discuss and refine your proposal idea (use scheduling link below).
3. Submit your proposal using this form.

Final proposal deadline: December 31, 2025

We will notify you of whether your proposal has been selected or not on or before March 16, 2026. If selected, headshots and bios of all speakers must be submitted by April 17, 2026 and final slide presentations (if applicable) must be submitted by May 22, 2026.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

There are three types of proposals:

1. Discussion panels are 50 minutes long and must include 3 or 4 speakers from different organizations, providing multiple perspectives on the proposed topic.
2. Interactive workshops are 50 minutes long and must include 2 or 3 facilitators from different organizations.
3. Short talks are each be 5 minutes long and given by one speaker.

Content priorities:

* We seek a balance of inspiring content, supported by tangible case studies and best practices, and offer insights into opportunities for businesses, nonprofits, local governments, and passionate residents to take action in their own organizations and communities in meaningful ways.

* We prioritize proposals that incorporate diverse perspectives. Diversity may include race, gender, background, lived experience, geography, and sector (business, nonprofit, local government, community).

* We prioritize proposals that align with our 2025 theme and sub-themes. This year, we invite sustainability leaders from across the Midwest to share the stories of their impact and successful partnerships. We’re interested in exploring how we can use visuals, narrative, and quantitative and qualitative data to measure and communicate that impact in a meaningful way. What challenges, successes, and strategies can we learn from? What are the tangible outcomes of our actions? And how do we know our actions are having the desired impact?

* We will only consider COMPLETE proposals. Please include the names and organizations of all speakers planned to participate in your session. Speakers will be granted a highly discounted admission to attend the full conference.

Questions? Want to bounce your idea off of us prior to submission?
We highly recommend that you meet with us to discuss and refine your proposal idea!

Draft a preliminary proposal then schedule a 20-minute meeting here. Please email a preliminary draft summarizing your idea to charlie@greenumbrella.org at least one day in advance of our meeting so I can review it before we meet. Please be sure to include the other people and/or organizations you are thinking of incorporating into your session in your preliminary proposal summary.

Green Umbrella is passionate about integrating the creative arts at our annual conference.

We do this through an art show that is on display throughout the day, and also live performances that take place at the end of the day, prior to the networking reception.

Types of Art Accepted:
- Visual Art (2D or 3D): including Drawing, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Mixed Media, Interactive Exhibits. Selected artists will be featured at the conference and you will be invited to either attend the networking reception for free, or the full conference at a highly discounted rate.
- Live Performances: including Spoken Word, Music, Dance, Theater. Stipends are available for performers who are selected to participate.

Art & Performance Guidelines:
- Displays will be made without any sort of advanced modes or methods of installation, therefore works must be able to be displayed considerably easily. We will have easels available for use.
- Drawings, Paintings, and Photography should be no larger than 4'x6'x4' and must be able to stand on an easel or on its own (no wall hangings).
- Sculpture and Mixed Media should be no larger than 4'x6'x4' and must be able to stand on its own or on a small table that you provide (no wall hangings).
- Spoken Word pieces should be 2 to 5 minutes in length
- Music, Dance, and Theater pieces should be 5 to 10 minutes in length

Premade Works and Proposal Submissions
Choose one of the following options of approach in order to submit your work:
Premade Work Submissions (Up to 5 images)
- Premade works that are submitted must be made within the past 4 years
- Premade works must be submitted with thorough description of work(s)
- Premade works, if accepted and dropped off, must meet the previously submitted representation of the piece

Artwork Proposal Submissions (Up to 5 images):
- Proposal submissions must be sufficiently created over the course of the submission period
- Proposal submissions must be made with a thorough description of proposed work
- Proposal submissions must be followed up with sufficiently considered proper representative evidence of the artwork being in fruition prior to the submission deadline in order to be considered for acceptance

Additional Details
Artist Demographic:
- No set age requirement, all ages
- Inclusive of all demographics
- Diverse groups encouraged to apply
- No experience required (art, work, education)

Summit Attendance:
- Artists are not required to attend the summit, but it is encouraged
- Discounted tickets available for artists that desire to attend
- Artist may attend the closing reception for free even if they did purchase Summit tickets
- Attendance is only required for drop-off and pick-up of pieces

Timeline:
- Submission Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Selections Notified: February 27, 2026
- Drop-Off Date (for visual art): June 11, 2026 - between 12:00 & 5:00 pm
- Day of Summit: June 12, 2026: live performances will take place during the performance showcase in the late afternoon, or may be integrated into the program throughout day; visual artists are invited to interact with attendees during the networking reception (5:00-6:00 pm)
- Pick-Up Date (for visual art): June 12, 2026 - between 6:00 & 7:00 pm

Questions? Want to bounce your idea off of us prior to submission? Contact Charlie Gonzalez at charlie@greenumbrella.org.

Submission Agreement:

By contributing your digital signature and date of submission here, you are agreeing with:
The terms in the guidelines described at the top of this form
To abide by the values put forth in Green Umbrella's member agreement
And the following statements:
- Green Umbrella and other partners of the summit will not be held responsible for potential damages that could potentially occur upon the works displayed at the summit.
- I understand that no insurance will be offered for the works displayed at the summit.
- Drop-off and pick-up are at the responsibility of the owner of each artwork to fulfill on time on their own volition.

We invite scholarly and practitioner posters that focus on professional work or academic research that aligns with the showcases climate solutions and innovative or impactful sustainability efforts. Selected posters will be featured at the conference and you will be invited to either attend the networking reception for free, or the full conference at a highly discounted rate.

Posters may exhibit academic, research, scholarly, practitioner, organization, and student works. Posters should contain typical components: Abstract, Background/Issue, Methods, Results/Data, Conclusion/Recommendations, References. Data visualizations and pictures highly encouraged!

The call for poster abstract submissions is now open and the deadline is December 31, 2025.

Guidelines:
- Please anticipate printing and bringing your own poster. We will be providing easels.
- The review committee strives for quality, variety, innovation, and diversity in accepted abstracts. We will prioritize posters that align with the Summit theme and sub-themes.
- At least one author must be available to present the poster at the poster session. For coauthored or multi-authored abstracts, the presenting author should provide and upload the abstract.
- The maximum poster abstract length is 300 words, including any references.
- More guidelines on recommended poster format will be provided upon selection.

Timeline:
- Submission Deadline: December 31, 2025
- Selections Notified: February 27, 2026
- Drop-Off Date: June 11, 2026 - between 12:00 and 5:00 pm OR June 12, 2026 - between 7:00 and 8:00 am
- Day of Summit: June 12, 2026 - interact with attendees during the networking reception (5:00-6:00 pm)
- Pick-Up Date: June 12, 2026 - between 6:00 & 7:00 pm

Questions? Want to bounce your idea off of us prior to submission? Please contact charlie@greenumbrella.org.

Thank you for your submission!

If you'd like to submit another proposal, you can do so after submitting this form.