Dr Henning Wilts is the Director of the division Circular Economy at the Wuppertal Institute. His research focuses on the transition from a linear economy to a resource-efficient and climate-neutral circular economy. As a PhD economist, he coordinates various research and implementation projects for the BMU (German Federal Environment Ministry), the European Environment Agency, and the OECD, the results of which he has presented in over 150 scientific publications. Henning Wilts has been teaching Resource Economics and Policy at Bergische Universität Wuppertal (University of Wuppertal) since 2014, is a member of the experts panel of the Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) Panel of the European Parliament and is a member of the editorial advisory board of „Müll und Abfall” (Waste and Litter).

Key focus: Transformative processes for a circular economy, the economics of waste prevention, resource efficiency, and competitiveness

Prof. Dr. Bernd Ebersberger is an innovation researcher. For over 25 years, he has been thinking, writing and speaking about how ideas, creativity and innovation can contribute to a desirable future.

After holding positions at national and international research institutes and universities, he has been Professor of Innovation Management at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart since 2018. There he is also head of the Inno-Greenhouse, the university’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

He is the author of the Future Flip-Book, which supports a change of perspective if you want to innovate sustainably.

Key focus: Innovation, futurology, sustainable innovation

Dr. Wolf-Bertram von Bismarck is Managing Director of the e-learning platform PINKTUM and heads the PINKTUM Institute. His main interest today lies in the question of how people learn in a digital context and which soft skills we can use to successfully face the future.

von Bismarck has many years of experience in HR consulting and has been responsible for global HR work at PUMA, Fielmann and Imtech. He studied business psychology in Germany, England and the USA. His publications have appeared in numerous specialist journals and books.

Key focus: Artificial intelligence, Human Ressources, Learning

Dr. Hannah Schragmann holds a doctorate in business ethics and philosophy and researches the topic of productivity and new approaches to (re)productivity assessment on the nexus between ecology and economics. She previously worked for many years in sustainability and biodiversity consulting and in the wind industry and was responsible for financing climate tech start-ups at the Energy Resilience Leadership Group. Today, she is an active part of the management team of two green tech start-ups that want to make ecological purpose the center of entrepreneurial activity. The question of how the economy can be restructured in such a way that it serves people and nature is at the heart of what she does.

Mariem Mhadhbi  is the CEO of ValueCo whose mission is to align Values with Valuations by capturing investors’ opinions on the ESG of a listed company and bringing clarity and comparability in the market.

Spent over 13 years in financial markets doing equity derivatives structuring, structured products sales and institutional coverage. Worked with major institutions such as Société Générale, ING and Degroof Petercam.

Thought leadership on sustainability and blockchain. Amateur painter

Education: Mines, INSEAD, MIT

Fun facts: lived in an isolated tribe in Peru for a month, climbed the highest active Volcano, wrote and published a novel

Sylvia Schenk, attorney and Olympic participant (800m run in the 1972 Olympics), was a labour court judge for ten years, and City Councillor responsible for legal affairs, sport, women, and housing in Frankfurt am Main from 1989 to 2001. From 2001 to 2004 she was President of the German Federal Cycling Federation. Sylvia Schenk has been a member of Transparency International Germany since 2006; as Chair from 2007 to 2010 and as a board member until 2013. Since then, she has chaired the Working Group Sport, which serves as an international adviser on human rights and governance to organisations such as FIFA and IOC. She is on the Board of Trustees of the German Sustainability Award, Chair of the INTERPOL Standing Committee on Ethical Matters, Spokesperson of the Advisory Board for Integrity and Sustainability of the Mercedes-Benz Group and member of the Data Protection Advisory Board of Deutschen Bahn AG.

Key focus: Integrity & compliance, sustainability, human rights, sports (law)

Ralf Fücks is the founder and Managing Director of the Center for Liberal Modernity in Berlin, which sees itself as a political think tank and a debating platform for the defence and renewal of liberal democracy. Before that, he served as the President of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung (foundation) for 21 years. Fücks joined the Green Party in 1982, was Co-Chair of the German Green Party 1989-1990, and was Senator of Environment and City Development in Bremen from 1991 to 1995, as well as Deputy Mayor in Bremen. He is a frequent guest author in German and international media. His passion for ecology and freedom is also reflected in his books „Intelligent Wachsen. Die grüne Revolution“ (2013) and „Freiheit verteidigen. Wie wir den Kampf um die offene Gesellschaft gewinnen“ (2017) both published by Hanser Verlag. In 2019, he published the anthology „Soziale Marktwirtschaft ökologisch erneuern“ together with Thomas Köhler.

Key focus: Political – economic – ecological conflict, global megatrends and social change, climate change and green industrial revolution, responsible entrepreneurship, international politics, and the future of Europe

Stephan Grabmeier is a thought leader for innovation, new work, and transgenerational entrepreneurship. His professional career has included senior positions at Consorsbank AG, HypoVereinsbank AG, Master Management Deutschland GmbH, Deutsche Telekom AG, Haufe Group, and Kienbaum Consultants International. Today, he is Managing Director of Zukunftsinstitut – a leading European think tank for trends and social change in Europe. As a development partner of the Next Generation of Business, he and his team help companies find solutions to key issues relating to the future. His current book „Future Business Kompass“ is among the top 99 business books of 2020.

Key focus: Transgenerational entrepreneurship, purpose-driven business, next work, B corporations, the future design of companies

For over 30 years until his retirement in 2018, Prof Dr Rainer Grießhammer has helped shape the Öko-Institut and its development in numerous roles, including honorary member of the Committee and CEO. Today he is a Senior Adviser at Öko-Institut. He has also authored numerous books, including „#klimaretten – Jetzt Politik und Leben ändern“. Since 2012, he has also been an Honorary Professor for sustainable products at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg and a member of the research advisory board of the research centre „Consumers, Market and Policy“ at the Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen. In 2010 he received the Environmental Award of the German Environmental Foundation DBU (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt).

Key focus: Sustainable consumption and products, product policy, labelling, product-related climate protection

Prof Dr Christian Thorun is the Founder and Managing Director of ConPolicy. He is a recognised expert in consumer policy and advises federal and state ministries as well as the European Commission on consumer issues. In addition to his management activities, he is an Advisory Board Member of the Verein für Selbstregulierung der Informationswirtschaft (Association for Self-Regulation of the Information Economy). He is also a consumer policy spokesperson for consumer issues at Zentrum Digitalisierung.Bayern, a member of the independent ÖKOWORLD investment committee, and an associate member of Think Tank 30. He is also a member of the network of consumer research of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). Christian Thorun studied and received his doctorate in International Relations at Oxford University.

Key focus: Digitalisation, sustainable consumption, consumer policy, public affairs

Eveline Lemke is a consultant, thought leader and guide for the circular economy and systems thinking. Until 2016, she was the first Green Minister of Economic Affairs and Deputy Minister-President in Rhineland-Palatinate. In these roles, she initiated numerous sustainability projects in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. She is an expert on energy and raw material transition, as well as C2C (“Cradle to Cradle”) eco-design. Eveline Lemke is a member of the supervisory board of ABO Wind AG. In late 2017, she founded a competence centre on circular economy issues: Thinking Circular. This is listed as a think tank on the United Nations Sustainability Helpdesk page. Eveline Lemke is also Chair of the nonprofit organisation FAST (Friends’ Association for the Advancement of Systems Thinking).

Key focus: Circular economy, recycling, energy

Prof Dr Stefan Rahmstorf is a physicist and one of Germany’s most renowned climate researchers. Since 2000, he has been teaching as a Professor of Physics of the Oceans at the University of Potsdam. Rahmstorf served on the German government’s Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) from 2004 to 2013 and is a member of the Academia Europaea. He is a world-renowned expert on ocean currents, sea levels, climate history, weather extremes, and Earth system modelling and was one of the lead authors of the 4th Assessment Report (2007) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). For his easily comprehensible presentation of scientific facts in his books, blogs, and traditional and social media, he was awarded the Environmental Media Prize, the ZEIT Knowledge Prize, and the Climate Communication Prize of the American Geophysical Union.

Key focus: Impact of climate change, classification of policy measures at the national and international level, possible risk scenarios and adaptation, how to deal with fake news and climate change deniers

Prof Dr Sarah Jastram is Chair of the professorship for Business Ethics & Sustainability and General Business Administration at the Hamburg School of Business Administration. Before that, she worked at the Institute of Management at Humboldt University in Berlin. As Chair, she focuses on the following research topics: human rights, artificial intelligence, sustainable leadership, strategic CSR, sustainable supply chain management, impact measurement, governance & legitimacy, and ethical consumption. The research results have been published in leading international journals. Prof Jastram also works as a consultant and moderator in the private and public sectors.

Key focus: Strategic corporate responsibility, sustainable supply chains, stakeholder governance, sustainable leadership

Volker Angres headed the ZDF environmental editorial office and is Deputy Head of the main editorial office for business, law, social affairs, service, and environment (WIRSSUM). He is responsible for the Sunday environmental documentary series „planet e“ and works as an author for current ZDF programmes. He has received several awards for his work. Angres was a member of the German National Committee of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Stiftung Warentest and the Board of Trustees of Allianz Umweltstiftung (environmental foundation). As a co-author, he has authored the books „Futter fürs Volk“, „Bananen für Brüssel“ and „Das Verstummen der Natur“. Before joining ZDF, he spent a decade working in commercial television, most recently with Bayerischer Rundfunk.

Key focus: Sustainability, climate policy, energy policy, environmental communication, environmental education, workflow, and moderation

Prof Dr Ludger Heidbrink is Chair of Practical Philosophy at Kiel University (CAU). He is Director of the Kiel Center for Philosophy, Politics and Economics (KCPPE), member of the coordinating body of the Committee of the Consumer Research Network “Netzwerk Verbraucherforschung” at the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV), Co-Director of the Gustav-Radbruch-Network for Environmental Philosophy and Ethics (GustavRadbruch-Netzwerk) at CAU, Director of Corporate Ethics and Consumer Ethics at Center for Business Ethics of the German Network for Business Ethics (DNWE), and a board member of Wertekommission e.V. (Values Commission), an initiative for ethical management.

Key focus: Consumer ethics, corporate ethics, the ethics of responsibility, and business philosophy

Birgit Klesper was Senior Vice President, Group Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability, for Deutsche Telekom AG. After joining the company in 2006, she held various management positions in the areas of corporate communications, future work, and transformational change. Her professional career also included management positions at Wella AG, Procter & Gamble, Tchibo GmbH, and Philip Morris GmbH. Birgit Klesper is an honorary member of the board of directors of econsense Forum Nachhaltige Entwicklung der Deutschen Wirtschaft e.V. (Forum for Sustainable Development of German Business e.V.) and on the board of directors of the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI). She is a member of the board of trustees of the Aktion Deutschland Hilft (an alliance of German aid organisations) and the German CSR Forum. In addition, she is active on the advisory board of the platform nachhaltig.digital (sustainable.digital).

Key focus: Sustainability strategies, sustainable supplier management & human rights, corporate digital responsibility, social engagement, socially responsible investment (SRI)

Stephan Engel is an organisational developer and focuses on further establishing sustainability, both systemically and culturally, as a business driver within companies. As Principal of the Otto Group, he spent recent years developing a new approach, systemically and culturally, for a visionary sustainability strategy. As a consultant, he developed the systemic architecture of the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles. In the early 2000s, he began to organise textile supply chains more sustainably and was Managing Director at Cotton Made in Africa. He is a member of the advisory board of the FHH Cross Innovation Hub and will publish various articles on the topic of „new sustainability management“ this year. He received his systemic training at KAOSPILOT in Aarhus, Denmark and Akademie für Transformationsdesign in Berlin.

In 2020, he founded the „Büro für Transformation” (Office of Transformation) together with Günther Bachmann and Harald Welzer (www.enweba.com). From there he advises companies and political organisations.

Key focus: Sustainability, transformation design, systemic organisational development, systemic and cultural architecture, coaching

Prof Dr Friedrich von Borries is an architect and Professor at the interfaces of urban development, architecture, design, and art. In addition to numerous academic achievements, he founded the raumtactik agency together with Matthias Böttger in 2003. Since 2009, he has been a Professor of Design Theory at the HFBK Hamburg University of Fine Arts. As a scientist, he tries to understand the world. As a designer, he tries to change this world. This is why he uses research and design to address the political issues influencing the world we currently live in: opportunities for social transformation in times of growing economic inequality, environmental degradation, and climate change.

Key focus: Cities of the future, social transformation in times of economic inequality, ineffectiveness as a new regulatory ideal

Prof Dr Marlen Arnold is an environmental economist focusing on business and conducts research at TU Chemnitz on sustainable corporate strategies, sustainability management, sustainability innovation, sustainable consumption, and systemic change. Since 2001, she has worked on various sustainability projects at the University of Oldenburg, the Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung e.V. (Institute for Ecological Economic Research e.V.) in Berlin, the Technical University of Munich, the University of Vaasa, and the Hanken School of Economics in Vaasa, Finland.

Key focus: Sustainability management, sustainability innovation, sustainable consumption, systemic change

Harald Welzer is one of the most renowned thought leaders on social development for sustainability in Germany. His books have been translated into 22 languages and include bestsellers on sustainability transformation such as: “Think for yourself. A Guide to Resistance” published 2014; „Everything Could Be Different. A Social Utopia for Free People” published in 2019. As a social psychologist, he focuses on the potential of people and how this potential can also be turned into a willingness to change. He teaches at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, the University of St. Gallen, and the European University of Flensburg (where he is Director of the Norbert Elias Center for Transformation Research) and is Director of the FUTURZWEI.Stiftung Zukunftsfähigkeit foundation.

Harald Welzer can also be reached via the Office for Transformation, there in cooperation with Stephan Engel and Günther Bachmann (www.enweba.com).

Key focus: Role of companies in social transformation, integration of sustainability into corporate culture, communication of sustainability issues, motivating people to take action

As a Co-Founder of the consulting agency company companions in Hamburg, Dr Markus Baumanns has been supporting organisations in their transformation since 2010. He focuses on the practice and theory of how organisations can be organised sustainably to be resilient, flexible, dynamic, and values-driven over the long term. To help companies achieve these goals, company companions develops its own solutions, in some cases based on artificial intelligence.

Ten years as a diplomat, ten years as Managing Director of the Bucerius Law School and as a board member of the foundation ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius. Member and Chair of the supervisory boards of several medium-sized companies and foundations. Author (latest publication: „Kick Off. Auf Entdeckungsreise zur Organisation der Zukunft“ published in 2019 by Murmann/Haufe), columnist and highly sought-after speaker.

Dr Markus Baumanns invests in sustainable properties in the heart of Bogotá, as well as in impact investing in Vichada/Colombia. Since 2019, he has been an active partner of inuiva, a biotech start-up developing drugs for rare childhood diseases.

Key Focus: establishing new forms of organisation, cooperation, and management in companies, as well as making sustainability an integral part of their strategies.

Günther Bachmann steht für das, was in Sachen Nachhaltigkeit gehen kann und das, was Zukunft bedeuten soll. Als Generalsekretär des Nachhaltigkeitsrates hat er bis März 2020 die deutsche Nachhaltigkeitspolitik geprägt und die Bundespolitik beraten. Derzeit ist er u.a. für Conservation International, eine weltweit agierende NGO, als deren Innovator Fellow aktiv. Er ist Jury-Vorsitzender des Nachhaltigkeitspreises und teilt seine Kompetenz zu Politik, Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft in einer Reihe von Beiräten und internationalen Netzwerken. Sein Essay über Politik, Utopie und reale Gestaltungsräume ist im November 2020 im Oekom Verlag erschienen.

Günther Bachmann ist auch über das Büro für Transformation, dann in der Zusammenarbeit mit Stephan Engel und Harald Welzer (www.enweba.com) zu erreichen.

Schwerpunktthemen: Nachhaltigkeit, Klimaneutralität und Natur, Stakeholder-Management, Regulatorik und Selbstwirksamkeit, Nachhaltigkeit und Finanzen

Prof Dr Kerstin Lopatta is a Professor of Financial Accounting, Auditing and Sustainability, at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Hamburg and an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance at the University of Luxembourg. She has worked for one of the major four auditing firms and had numerous international research stays as a visiting researcher at renowned universities. Her research papers in the fields of sustainable finance and sustainable accounting have been published in renowned international journals. Kerstin Lopatta is a member of the Management Committee of the Sustainable Finance Research Platform and a member of the Executive Board of the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI).

Key focus: Accounting, supervisory board structures, diversity, human rights, corporate governance

Alexander Bassen is a Full Professor of capital markets and management in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Hamburg. He teaches courses in finance and investment, sustainable finance, and reporting. He is a member of the German Council for Sustainable Development (RNE), the German Advisory Council for Global Change (WBGU), and the Sustainable Finance and Climate Protection project of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. He is also an Honorary Research Associate at Oxford University (Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment) and a Visiting Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University. He is also a member of several advisory committees on sustainable finance. His works have been published in the journals Energy Economics, Organisation and Environment, Energy Policy, Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, and Journal of Business Economics.

Key focus: Sustainable finance, sustainable corporate governance, EU taxonomy/Green Deal, carbon (and nature risk) accounting, (measuring) sustainability performance

Fabian Eckert lives sustainability. In his master’s degree programme „Leadership for Sustainability“, Fabian focused on building sustainable companies. In 2016, together with Florian Pachaly, he founded RECUP GmbH, the market leader in reusable deposit schemes for coffee to go (RECUP) and take-away food (REBOWL), which have revolutionised the German market for returnables. RECUP is known not only for eliminating disposable packaging but also for developing innovative and sustainable organisational structures and processes to meet labour market demands. In addition, Fabian Eckert advises start-ups wanting to help transform society, is on the Corporate Responsibility Committee of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and, together with the Stiftung Verantwortungseigentum (Responsible Ownership Foundation), is committed to introducing a new, sustainable legal form known as VE GmbH.

Key focus: Those who ask questions must also seek the answers – Generation Y can improve the economy by managing it correctly; SMEs and responsible ownership; start-ups and sustainability; innovative and sustainable organisational development; the future belongs to reusable systems

Prof Dr Volker Quaschning is a Professor in the field of regenerative energy systems at the University of Applied Sciences HTW Berlin and one of the co-initiators of the initiative Scientists for Future, which consists of experienced scientists in the fields of climate, sustainability, biodiversity, and transformation research. In 1996, he received his doctorate from TU Berlin in which his research focus was on the effects of shade on photovoltaic systems. His subsequent habilitation (TU Berlin) was devoted to structural systems for a climate-friendly energy supply. From 1999 to 2004, he was Project Manager for solar systems analysis at Deutschen Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Space Agency). Prof Quaschning is the author of several scientific books and has his own YouTube channel, podcast series, and website on renewable energies and climate protection. He is a popular interview partner in newspapers, radio, and television. He has a large audience on social networks and was chosen by LinkedIn as one of its Top Voices for 2020.

Key focus: Renewable energies, photovoltaics, climate protection, energy transition, electromobility

Prof Dr Franz-Josef Radermacher is a mathematician, computer scientist, and economist. He has been a Professor and Ambassador for digital transformation at Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen since 2018. Until his retirement in 2018, he was a Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Databases at Ulm University and is Director of the Research Institute for Applied Knowledge Processing (FAW/n) in Ulm. Radermacher was awarded the Robert Jungk Prize in 2005 and since 2010 has been President of the Senats der Wirtschaft e.V. (Senate of the Economy). He is the author of „Welt mit Zukunft“ (2011) and „Balance oder Zerstörung“ (2002). He has also been a member of the Board of Academic Advisers to the Federal Minister of Digital and Transport since 2000, a member of the Club of Rome, and an internationally sought-after speaker. His latest work is „Der Milliarden-Joker“ published by Murmann Verlag.

Key focus: Digital transformation, big data, artificial intelligence, green energy

Prof Dr Christian Berg teaches sustainability at several German universities. He has worked in the business sector for over a decade, including as Chief Sustainability Architect at SAP. He has published several books on sustainability-related topics and headed the task force on Sustainable Economic Activity and Growth as part of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Future Dialogue. He holds degrees in physics (Dipl.-Phys.), philosophy (M.A.), theology (Mag. Theol. and Dr. theol.) and engineering (Dr.-Ing.).

Key focus: Sustainable development, corporate sustainability, sustainability, and IT

Prof Dr Lars Hochmann is a political economist and possibility scientist. In 2016, he received his doctorate in business administration, corporate management, and corporate environmental policy at Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, where he has been working as a postdoc ever since. Since 2020, he has been working simultaneously on socio-ecological entrepreneurship, political theory of entrepreneurship, and economic relations of nature and the world at the Cusanus Hochschule für Gesellschaftsgestaltung (Cusanus School of Social Design). He is the editor of the book „economists4future – Verantwortung übernehmen für eine bessere Welt” (economists4future – Taking Responsibility for a Better World“ published in August 2020.

Key focus: Economy of the future, sustainable entrepreneurship, social-ecological transformation

Georg Abel has been the National Director of the VERBRAUCHER INITIATIVE e.V. (consumer initiative) since 1994. His primary focus is on the diverse topic of sustainability as well as the elderly as a target group. He is responsible for communications on multiple issues and represents the federal association in numerous committees, including the sustainability advisory boards of various companies. After his business education as a travel agent and a degree (political science/sociology), he worked for several years as Managing Director of a city magazine and a journalists‘ association as well as press spokesperson for the political organisation Bündnis 90/Die Grünen NRW. Mr. Abel has also been Managing Director of the association’s own Verbraucher Initiative Service GmbH since 1999.

Key focus: Consumer protection, consumer policy, sustainable consumption, sustainable products & labels