2027 Midwest Sustainability Summit: Call for Participation

Building What’s Next: From Resilience to Abundance

The Call for Participation is now open. Submit your proposal by the timeline listed below help shape the 2027 Midwest Sustainability Summit.

• Speaker/Panel: 1/31/2026
• Artist/Performer: 3/26/2027
• Poster Session: 3/26/2027

For more than a decade, the Midwest Sustainability Summit, hosted by Green Umbrella, has brought people together to imagine what’s possible, turn ideas into action, and learn from one another as we work toward a more sustainable future. We know our communities are facing real and growing challenges. But we also know that resilience is about more than simply weathering what comes our way. It’s about having the imagination, relationships, and resources to create something stronger: systems where people, communities, economies, and ecosystems can thrive.

Building What’s Next: From Resilience to Abundance invites us to look at what is already taking root across our region and ask where we can go from here. There is so much to celebrate: cleaner energy, stronger local food systems, thriving greenspace, healthier communities, new partnerships, and people of all generations finding creative ways to make change happen.  In 2027, we’ll come together to share what’s working, learn from what isn’t, and create space for changemakers of all ages, backgrounds, experience levels to take action across our region. Together, we’ll explore what it means to build a Midwest where people and the planet have the opportunity to flourish.

We’re looking for engaging, substantive, and participatory breakout sessions, poster research, and artist proposals that give attendees new ideas, practical tools, meaningful connections, fresh perspectives, or inspiration they can carry into their own work.

 

Summit Tracks
Your proposal should align most closely with one of these four interconnected tracks:

1. Reduce Emissions
Transforming the systems that power and move our communities is essential to building a thriving future. This track explores cleaner, more efficient energy, buildings, and transportation, along with the policies, investments, technologies, and partnerships that can accelerate the transition.

Topics may include renewable energy, electrification, energy efficiency, clean transportation, mobility, grid transformation, climate-friendly development, energy policy, climate finance, and approaches to reducing emissions across sectors.

2. Build Resilient & Equitable Food Systems
A thriving food system nourishes people, strengthens local economies, supports farmers, and helps communities withstand disruption. This track explores how we can build more accessible, equitable, healthy, and resilient food systems, from farm to school to neighborhood.

Topics may include food access and equity, food policy, agriculture, farm-to-school, local procurement, community orchards, food waste, food and health, support for local farmers, and strategies for strengthening local and regional food systems.

3. Create Thriving Greenspace
Healthy communities depend on healthy natural systems. This track explores how we can protect, restore, and expand greenspace and green infrastructure to strengthen climate resilience, support biodiversity, connect people with nature, and create healthier, more livable communities.

Topics may include biodiversity, land use, parks, urban forestry, tree canopy, green schoolyards, community orchards, green infrastructure, conservation, restoration, and nature-based solutions.

4. Support Local Communities
The future is built in communities, and communities need people, resources, knowledge, and partnerships to shape it. This track explores the leadership, funding, policy, workforce, housing, and community-based strategies that help turn climate and sustainability goals into meaningful, lasting action.

Topics may include community climate action, equitable development, housing, workforce development, leadership pipelines, funding and finance, policy and governance, community engagement, climate justice, and building local capacity.

These tracks are intentionally broad and interconnected. Your proposal does not need to fit neatly into a single subject area. Choose the track that most closely reflects the primary outcome, community, or system your session addresses. Topics such as policy, finance, data, workforce development, and climate resilience may fit within multiple tracks depending on the focus of the proposal.

 

Perspectives We’re Looking For
Across all four tracks, we’re particularly interested in proposals that incorporate one or more of the following perspectives:

1. Youth & Intergenerational Leadership
Create meaningful opportunities for youth and young professionals to share their expertise, shape conversations, and learn alongside people who bring years of experience.

2. Equity & Inclusion
Center the experiences, needs, leadership, and knowledge of communities that have historically been excluded from decision-making or disproportionately affected by environmental challenges.

3. Innovation & New Approaches
Share creative ideas, emerging solutions, experiments, or approaches that challenge conventional ways of working.

4. Policy & Systems Change
Explore how policy, governance, institutions, markets, and systems can enable or accelerate meaningful change.

5. Data & Measurement
Show how data, research, evaluation, and measurement can inform decisions, reveal progress, identify gaps, or improve outcomes.

6. Cross-Sector Collaboration
Bring together perspectives, expertise, or partnerships across businesses, nonprofits, government, academia, schools, and communities.

These are not additional tracks, and proposals do not need to address one of them to be considered. They are ways of approaching the work that can strengthen conversations across any area of sustainability and climate action.

We’re especially interested in proposals that:

• Share solutions and approaches that others can learn from
• Showcase progress, successes, and lessons learned
• Offer practical tools, strategies, or resources
• Bring together different sectors, disciplines, or generations
• Elevate youth, emerging, or historically underrepresented voices
• Explore an emerging issue, experiment, or possibility that deserves more attention
• Create opportunities for meaningful participation and connection
• Help attendees see how their own work can contribute to a more thriving, resilient, and equitable region

A strong proposal does not need to present a perfect success story. We’re interested in honest lessons, experiments, challenges, and unexpected discoveries, too. Tell us what you’re learning, what surprised you, what you would do differently, and why others could benefit from your experience.

Want to meet with our team to discuss your proposal idea before submitting? Schedule a 20-minute meeting here.

We invite proposals for short talks, panel discussions, and interactive workshops that align with our 2027 theme, Building What’s Next: From Resilience to Abundance.

All speaker and breakout submissions should also align with one of our four Tracks: 

• Reduce Emissions
• Build Resilient and Equitable Food Systems
• Create Thriving Greenspace
• Support Local Communties

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, using this scheduling link.
3. Submit your proposal using this form.

Final proposal deadline: December 31, 2027

We will notify you of whether your proposal has been selected or not on or before March 1, 2027. If selected, headshots and bios of all speakers must be submitted by April 1, 2027 and final slide presentations (if applicable) must be submitted by May 14, 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 2027 theme and tracks. This year’s Summit invites us to look at what is already taking root across our region and ask where we can go from here.

* 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 scheudle a 20-minute meeting here. Please email a preliminary draft summarizing your idea to alison.green@greenumbrella.org at least one day in advance of our meeting so it can be reviewed. Please be sure to include the other people and/or organizations you are thinking of incorporating into your session in your preliminary proposal summary.

Thank you for your submission!

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

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: March 26, 2027
- Selections Notified: on a rolling basis
- Drop-Off Date (for visual art): June 8, 2027 - between 12:00 & 5:00 pm
- Day of Summit: June 9, 2027: 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 9, 2027 - between 6:00 & 7:00 pm

Questions? Want to bounce your idea off of us prior to submission? Contact Alison Green at alison.green@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 March 26, 2027.

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: March 26, 2027
- Selections Notified: on a rolling basis
- Drop-Off Date: June 8, 2027 - between 12:00 and 5:00 pm OR June 9, 2027 - between 7:00 and 8:00 am
- Day of Summit: June 9, 2027 - interact with attendees during the networking reception (5:00-6:00 pm)
- Pick-Up Date: June 9, 2027 - between 6:00 & 7:00 pm

Questions? Want to bounce your idea off of us prior to submission? Please contact Alison Green at alison.green@greenumbrella.org.

Thank you for your submission!

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