During the 8th Annual Leaders on Purpose CEO Summit at the UN General Assembly and NYC Climate Week, OpenEarth Foundation’s Founder and Executive Director Martin Wainstein joined global sustainability and finance leaders to discuss how data, innovation, and purpose-driven collaboration can accelerate the energy transition and climate resilience worldwide.

Hosted in New York on September 24, the Summit brought together changemakers from across sectors to explore how leadership, technology, and finance are shaping the next economy, one where climate action is central to growth.

Key takeaways from the panel: “Investing in the Resilient Energy Transition”

Moderated by Alessa Berg (CEO, Top Tier Impact), the session featured:

• Martin Wainstein, OpenEarth Foundation
  
  
• Aniket Shah, Managing Director & Global Head of Sustainability & Transition Strategy, Jefferies
  
  
• Hilkka Komulainen, Global Head of Sustainability & Impact, Quinbrook
  
  
• Melissa Hoffer, Chief Climate Officer, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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The panel emphasized that the energy transition is no longer a risk, it’s one of the most dynamic investment platforms of our time. Once considered high-risk, renewable energy and climate technologies are now core drivers of economic resilience and competitiveness.

Martin highlighted how open digital infrastructure and data transparency can accelerate this shift by empowering cities, governments, and financial institutions to measure, plan, and invest in credible climate actions.

“Data is the bridge between climate ambition and financial action. When we make emissions and resilience data open, standardized, and actionable, we enable both local implementation and global accountability.” - Martin Wainstein

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From planetary systems to local action: CityCatalyst’s role

The discussion reinforced the need for systemic tools that connect planetary data with local decision-making.
This is exactly where CityCatalyst, OpenEarth’s open-source digital platform, plays a key role, helping cities:

• Build standardized GHG inventories aligned with global frameworks
  
  
• Identify and prioritize high-impact actions
  
  
• Generate implementation-ready reports to access climate finance
  
  

By simplifying data management and integrating AI-assisted recommendations, CityCatalyst supports the same “next economy” leadership vision championed at the Summit: one where climate data becomes the foundation of resilient growth.

The leadership we need for the next economy

Across the Summit’s sessions, one theme stood out, leadership for the next economy means innovating beyond legacy systems and investing in transformation that serves both society and the planet.

As ecosystems gain recognition as economic assets, and the Chief Sustainability Officer becomes a strategic driver alongside technology leaders, collaboration between public and private sectors is more vital than ever.

CityCatalyst embodies this new paradigm, combining open data, explainable AI, and cross-sector partnerships to help cities move from emissions data to climate action.

Get involved

CityCatalyst is now available for a 2-month free trial, enabling cities and consultants to explore its GHG Inventory Module and experience how open data can fast-track local climate planning.

🌱 Start your free trial today →
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Let’s turn emissions data into climate action, city by city.