This was my first time attending ChangeNOW in Paris, and even without a specific mission, I was impressed by the quality of the show, and the massive attendance. The location was incredible, at the temporary pavilion near the Eiffel Tower and across from l'Ecole Militaire.

What did I get out of it?

Notable people I met

• Maxime Damagnez - a business developper met via Linkedin, as we were trying to figure out how to incentivize large corporations to collaborate on funding e-waste recycling infrastructure in developing countries. Maxime had done substantial work getting his client to issue carbon credits for their used mobile phone marketplace, and we were curious about the batteries. He reminded me about a French startup called Riverse, one of the only and few who has created an avoidance credit for battery repair, refurbishment and a methodology for the calculation.

Two french cousins, separately (I have a big family and may run into cousins at any time around the world, in this case, in Paris there was a higher chance) Jacques Ferte, who launched his new alternative coffee brand, Cherico, Juliette Ferte, who left her role as CEO & cofounder of an ESG management platform.

I learned about the Dandelion community, and was fascinated by Hafsat ABIOLA's inspiring speech on action and change.

Met some contacts from Timbtrack #firetech for my little sister Eloise Armour who works in fire. Here I am with one of her best friends, Donatella Basdereff.

I took photos of the recycling & sorting station for Stefanie of WeGoZero. Heard Blanca Chocarro Ruiz of EIT Manufacturing (met back in 2023 at Slush too!).

What I generally felt were that the startups and companies present were very willing to collaborate, quality decision-makers were in the room and actively looking to exchange. All booths were pretty much the same format, whether you were a startup or a large corporate, which made it an level playing field. The diversity of panels (and panelists) was nice, maybe almost too many panels. The content didn't stick or stand out too much for me as a result, besides Hafsat's contribution.
I think it was a good idea and interesting to have a French political party European Elections debate "Le Grand debat dedie a la transition ecologique et sociale" also held live at this event. It added a nice layer of relevance to the conference.