From Friday 21 to Sunday 23 August, CAT will once again open its doors for our annual CAT Conference, a weekend of talks, tours and workshops exploring how we can respond to the challenges of our time.

“Active Hope is not wishful thinking. Active Hope is not waiting to be rescued… it is a readiness to discover the strengths in ourselves and in others; our steadiness of purpose, our own authority, the liveliness of our curiosity and our capacity to lead. None of these can be discovered in an armchair or without risk. We’ve come a long way and are here to play our part.”

These words are taken from the late scholar and author Joanna Macey, and they feel particularly resonant as we look ahead to this year’s conference.

Connection, Courage and Practical Hope

At a time when the climate and nature crises can feel overwhelming, and when information we receive is often fragmented or polarised, the act of coming together feels essential.

We need spaces where people can come together honestly, grapple with complexity and put solutions into action that are radical, inclusive and grounded in realism and care. So the theme of this year’s conference, “Connection, Courage and Practical Hope”, points towards a way forward: technical solutions alone are not enough.

Throughout the conference, participants will explore how hands-on action, courageous conversations and systems thinking can combine to shape a more sustainable future. From practical building skills in circular construction to thought-provoking discussions about energy, community resilience and climate justice, we will spend a weekend connecting ideas with action.

Our members will be showcasing inspiring examples from across the CAT community, from journeys in sustainable building to community energy projects, storytelling and research results. These stories matter. They remind us that change is already happening and that it is being driven by people willing to experiment, collaborate, and take bold action at a local level. From this place, we’re reminded of more wisdom by the late Joanna Macey: “be generous with your strengths and skills. They are not your private property, and they grow from being shared.”

Every year, the CAT conference refreshes our sense of belonging in the world, which helps to build resilience from burnout or pessimism.

The opportunity to share expertise and stories across generations, disciplines and perspectives, and to be present and listen can be powerful. It reminds us that while our experiences and viewpoints may differ, there is often far more shared ground than we realise. For example, CAT’s Innovation Lab session uses collective visioning to help unlock new ways of thinking, being and doing. And even with so much shared ground and like-minded values amongst our community, it is a practice that we can take out to the world.

A People’s Emergency Briefing

This year’s keynote speaker, Mike Berners-Lee, will explore “Pathways through the Polycrisis”, drawing on ideas from his book A Climate of Truth.
His work challenges us to confront the scale of the problems we face, because he recognises that only from this courageous place of truth can we enact change. He identifies that one of the biggest hurdles we must overcome is honesty and accountability in media, politics and public discourse.

This is one of the principles that has brought about National Emergency Briefing on Climate and Nature, which Mike chaired at the Central Hall in Westminster in November 2025. You can read about his experience at the event on Mike’s blog post here.

As he has reflected, the National Emergency Briefing on Climate and Nature demonstrated the importance of bringing these truths into the open, and the momentum is now building through People’s Emergency Briefings across the UK, one of which will be held at the Conference in a few weeks time.

The Conference opens with a screening of the People’s Emergency Briefing, a 50-minute documentary and community campaign film, which sets out the interconnected threats posed by the climate and nature crises. Drawing on evidence from leading British experts in climate science, economics, health and ecology, it highlights the positive opportunities that would follow genuine, rapid emergency action. Following the film, attendees will be invited to join a structured discussion, creating space for open, constructive conversation about what the issues raised may mean locally.

Paul Allen, Knowledge and Outreach Coordinator

“The record extreme heatwaves so far this year have been noticed by everyone. At the same time, hundreds of ‘People’s Emergency Briefings’ have been happening across the UK. Now is the time for scaling up mainstream action for change. Not only do we have to do it, but if we do it right, it is an opportunity to benefit many sectors. The clean energy revolution is one of the fastest growing parts of the economy; solar delivery is out-pacing even the most optimistic projections creating jobs and income for communities. Better diets and local food supplies are good for both people and planet. Let’s come together and explore how we can help make this the beginning of real change.

The very act of spending time together unleashes new thinking and approaches. Just as nature shares nutrition in the soil, the ‘ecosystem’ of members, students, staff and alumni gather at CAT to cross-fertilise ways we can respond to the challenges we face, and vital in helping scale-up solutions. Talks, tours, workshops and conversations engage the imagination to bring to life different futures which challenge the status quo. As we let go of the stories holding us back, and imagine new possibilities together, we build a shared vision of what is possible.

Ideas rooted in worldviews that we are part of nature are an essential part of the necessary transformation. They foster values like honesty, responsibility, social justice and helpfulness, that strengthen public commitment for action on climate and nature, rather than values based on wealth, status and power, which weaken it.

By coming together, we recognise that it’s not all down to us as individuals, we see that we are cells in an evolving and growing ‘organism’ responding to the poly crisis and recognising the need for sufficiency for everyone, as part of a thriving nature.”

Join this year’s CAT Conference

Whether you are already deeply involved with sustainability or just beginning to explore your role in shaping a positive future, you are warmly invited to this year’s CAT Conference.

Find out more about the conference, including tickets and accommodation, on the conference booking page, along with our conference programme. If you are not yet a CAT member, you can join when booking.

We hope to welcome you to CAT this August.