Karsten is a trained industrial mechanic for machine and system technology and a qualified product designer. Since his studies he has been working on "New Materials in Product Design".
 
From 2005-2013 he was Director Library & Materials Research, significantly involved in building and managing the world's largest materials library for the New York-based consulting company Material ConneXion. In 2013, the materials expert founded MRC - Materials Research & Consulting, a consulting company for innovative and sustainable product development. MRC advises development departments of well-known companies from Europe, Asia and the USA.
 
In 2019 he founded "The Circular Materials GmbH". The company develops and produces tailor-made materials and products for the circular economy.
 
Since 2009 he has been teaching "Material & Design" and "Sustainability & Circular Design Practice" at various engineering, design and architecture universities.

Ludovico Durante is the co-founder and Marketing Director of Staiy. Born in Turin in 1997 and based in Berlin, he is a creative individual with a strategic mindset. Passionate for sustainable living, he advocates for businesses’ responsibility to provide access to sustainable options. With a background in Psychology and Business Management, he has been guest lecturer across several European universities to touch the themes of entrepreneurship and sustainability, and often a speaker in international digital venues between fashion and tech. Through Staiy, he embodies the mission of accelerating the transition towards a more sustainable lifestyle by means of ethics, aesthetics and innovation. The marketplace has already been recognized by Vogue, WWD, Euronews and more and counts over 120 partner brands.

Johanna Neves Pimenta studied industrial and communication design. As a trainee and editor of the trade journal Designreport, she learned journalistic skills before setting up a press and online marketing department for the international design fair blickfang. As editor-in-chief of md INTERIOR DESIGN ARCHITECTURE, she now brings together an understanding of design, digital competence and journalistic passion in order to lead the prestigious print title into a multimedia future with her colleagues.

Sebastian Backhaus is a sustainability and communication expert with over 15 years of professional experience. His work focuses on supporting ministries, municipalities, companies and organizations in all aspects of communication and public relations as well as organizational development. His publications as part of his blog were awarded by the German Unesco Commission as a project of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. He is a member of the advisory board of the DBU project "Digitalization, Digital Communication and Climate Protection". His work focuses on the conception and implementation of both 360-degree campaigns and individual communication measures. In addition, Sebastian Backhaus lectures and gives workshops on communication of sustainability, climate protection and sustainable mobility. He is also the co-founder and CEO of MIKILI – Bicycle Furniture, a design label that designs, manufactures and distributes high quality furniture for bicycles.

Meike Weber developed new contents and formats around the architectural trade magazine DETAIL for 15 years. Among other she worked on DETAIL research as an open network of architecture, business, research and politics. Detail research uses various formats to convey topics on the "future of building" based on research results and studies on the effects of social change and megatrends on architecture and the city. For several years, she has also been responsible for teaching at the Institute for International Trendscouting of the Faculty of Design at the HAWK Hildesheim and advises various committees from business, NGOs, teaching, research and politics.

Katrin de Louw studied interior design, trend expert and since 1997 Owner and Managing Director of TRENDFILTER®- design future for furniture and materials. Her passion for interior architecture, trends, design and her curiosity led her go to China in the early 2000s, where she worked for Häcker Küchen and Tom Tailor, among others, designing concept stores and being responsible for the on-site construction as well as various product developments. The topics of the future and ecology were always important sources of inspiration and motivation for her work as a trend scout. Since 2007, she has been giving talks on interior trends to decision-makers in the furniture industry, is an author for trade journals, a juror for renowned juries and is seen today as one of the leading experts on interior and furniture trends, materials and surfaces. In the course of her 25-year career, she initiated two successful business networks: FURNITURE FUTURE FORUM as a trend forum in the center of the German furniture industry in East Westphalia, and the still young COLORNETWORK®, which thinks color sustainably for the first time and makes products transparent for planners in their cradle to cradle cycle. 

Tina Kammer is together with Andrea Herold InteriorPark. She has been following the developments about sustainability for more than 25 years. As a trained cabinet maker, she gained in-depth knowledge of materials and their processing. She realized her focus on brand architecture for companies like BMW, MINI and IBM worldwide. She developed shop concepts for HUGO BOSS AG and was responsible for various international markets. With Andrea Herold she founded the company InteriorPark in 2010, which brings together architecture, space and communication in high-quality design solutions. At lectures and workshops, she passes on her in-depth knowledge and is involved with the DGNB. For construction projects, her focus is on healthy indoor climate, sustainable design concepts and communication in the room.

As Managing Director of the online market place Avocadostore.de, Mimi Sewalski is always on the look-out for new product ideas. She has been working with many sustainable start-ups from their beginning and helps them with online presence in brand building and product development.

Avocadostore.de offers more than 200.000 green products from 750 retailers from all over Germany. All the products offered must meet at least one of the sustainability criteria set by Avocadostore.de. Mimi Sewalski studied Sociology and Criminology in Munich. In 2005 she moved to Israel and worked there in a high-tech start-up in the eCommercials. At the same time, she became involved in the plastics recycling sector in Tel Aviv.

Since 2011, she is part of Avocadostore.de.

Katja Reich is head of the editorial team of DBZ Deutsche Bauzeitschrift in Berlin and Gütersloh since 2019. She has over 20 years of experience in the conception and editorial implementation of architecture journals with a focus on corporate publishing, in the planning and implementation of specialist events for architects and in the field of construction products. Bringing design requirements and practical building requirements into harmony is the focus of her work across all communication channels.

Petra Schmatz studied political science in combination with economics and law at the University of Passau. After graduating, she joined AVR Verlag in Munich in 2004 and has since been writing passionately in various departments for its magazines. As a Bavarian child from the countryside, Petra Schmatz is privately very committed to a sustainable lifestyle. That's why she finds her work as editorial director at green Lifestyle magazine a special highlight of her job and a personal enrichment. She sees tracking down green trends, news and innovations and reporting on them as a great opportunity to make the world a little bit better, bit by bit. In her editorial work, Petra Schmatz focuses primarily on the areas of eco-fair fashion and organic food & beverage.

Melodie Abdollahi is co-founder of Haus von Eden. Before that, she worked for a long time in management consulting and strategic development for large corporations. She spent several years in China and gained expertise in industrial production. There she experienced first-hand the direct consequences of the Western world's fast-paced consumption and decided to do something about it. Her focus is on corporate social responsibility, which is why she was instrumental in designing the scoring model and the sustainability criteria of Haus von Eden. Based on this, the positive actions of sustainably operating companies are highlighted on the platform. Haus von Eden is the first German-language platform for sustainable design & lifestyle as a reliable contact point for conscious consumers who do not want to forego aesthetics.

Raz is an Assistant Professor of Strategic Design and Management at Parsons School of Design - The New School in NY, where he explores sustainable business models and how companies can respond effectively to the climate crisis. Currently, he serves as an Associate Director of the Strategic Design & Management BBA Program. Raz is the co-founder of two green startups (Hemper Jeans and Eco-Libris) and the author of Rethinking Corporate Sustainability in the Era of Climate Crisis (Palgrave Macmillan, July 2021).

Thomas Bade sees social entrepreneurship as a central element of his work and has been committed for ten years to the goal of anchoring universal design in business, science and society. He is co-founder of universal design e.V., signatory of the Weimar Declaration, lecturer at the Technical University of Munich and, since July 2016, Managing Director of the Institute for Universal Design there. As managing director of the Universal Design Forum e.V., he represents the association at the German Design Day and is a consultant member of the IAUD (International Association for Universal Design) in Yokohama (Japan).  Thomas Bade is currently working intensively on the digital transformation in nursing and the fields of sustainable universal design in urban and district development.

Since 2018, Thomas Bade, as a member of the board of the German Design Day, has headed the Sustainability Work Group.

Anna Theil co-founded the crowdfunding platform Startnext from 2010 to 2019 and advised and supported many founders and creatives in this context. Her focus was mainly on the topics of social business, sustainability and culture.  In 2019, she co-founded "Studio Für Morgen" https://studiofuermorgen.de and deals with the changes in society and the working world. Anna Theil studied media and communication sciences.

Matthias Pinkert built his own industrial design company from 2009 to 2018. He advised and supported many students, founders and creative people in this context. His focus here was primarily on the subject areas of user experience, sustainability and design. Matthias Pinkert has been working for Startnext, Germany's largest crowdfunding platform, since 2019 and, in addition to creating a sustainable user experience, is concerned with building brand identity. Matthias Pinkert studied product design with a focus on user interaction, communication and sustainability.

Michael Weber has been working for Project Management Jülich in the sustainability research management department for more than ten years now. He is head of the Department of Sustainability Strategy and EU environmental research. That's why he is aware of a wide range of topics concerning innovative ideas and solutions. After his opinion, sustainable innovation should be seen primarily in the development of a social action - that's how we can keep and even improve the quality of life for ourselves and future generations.

Kiersten Muenchinger is an Associate Professor in the Product Design Program and one of the principles in the Green Product Design Network at the University of Oregon. She was honored with the Sustainable Practice Impact Award in 2018. Muenchinger researches and teaches the intersection of materials, manufacturing and design with an emphasis on sustainability tactics and metrics. Her research utilizes Kansei engineering principles to measure how consumers perceive the sustainability of materials. Kiersten was named “Young Educator of the Year” in 2011by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), and one of the Design Intelligence 30 Most Admired Educators for 2015. Before joining UO, Kiersten was a design engineer with IDEO, Fitch, Sottsass Associatti, and Walt Disney Imagineering.

Bert Odenthal has been focusing on sustainable design since the 1990s. With his team at Odenthal Design he virtually only works for and with people and organisations pursuing sustainable paths. CO₂ optimisation and neutralisation and, above all, significance of the projects are his compass, often leading him to creative cooperation with clients and stakeholders. He became a Utopia Changemaker, was a member of the think tank “Designer 2030” of Allianz deutscher Designer (Alliance of German Designers, AGD) and engages in the Council for Sustainability of Deutscher Designtag and Adhoc-AG Sustainability of the German Cultural Council. He conveys his expertise to other designers in workshops and lectures.

Sebastian Thies, 6th generation footwear professional since 1856, is the Founder x Designer of high-end sneaker brand nat-2™ and CEO of progressive sustainable home and footwear brand thies 1856 ®. Sustainability is key since more than 160 years in the family tradition.

Sebastian is also a Creative Director at various other Projects and has worked with companies such as MCM, Wu-Tang, Sony, Paramount, Activision, Ritter Sport, Atelier PMP, Hasbro, Gabor, HBC, Levi's, Benetton, nowadays, Urban Outfitters, Studio100 ... Sebastian's Designs have been showcased and included to design collections in international re-known exhibitions and museums  such as Grassimuseum Leipzig, Red Dot Museums Essen x Singapore, Kunsthaus Vienna, MKG Hamburg, Shoetopia Detroit, Cube Designmuseum NL, Wilhelm Wagenfeld Stiftung Bremen, VirtualShoemuseum, Deutsches Museum...

Sebastian has already won several international awards such as the Red Dot Design Award, German Brand Award, Innovation x Design Award, IspoBrandnew Award, was nominated twice for Germany's Designpreis and appointed as Fellow and Kultur- x Kreativpilot by the Federal Republic of Germany.

The London Designmuseum has quoted nat-2™ as "one of the 50 shoes that changed the world" in its books.

Robert Pludra is an industrial designer and an assistant professor at the Faculty of Design, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where he was a Deputy Dean ( 2016-2019).  His design office is focused on product, social and exhibition design as well as leading design workshops .  In 2013 Robert defended his PhD thesis in social design. He is a member of the Association of Industrial Designers (associated in BEDA). He participated in more than fifty exhibitions at the most important design festivals (in Milan, London, Paris, Berlin or Tokyo). He is a laureate of many competitions and scholarships.  

Claus-Christian Eckhardt was appointed in 2001 as professor and director of Lund University School of Industrial Design in Sweden. He studied industrial design at the Braunschweig University of Art. After graduating, he worked for Silvestrin Design, Blaupunkt and Bosch, where later he became head of design. He led the design activities of Tenovis and Avaya. He also a freelance designer since 2000.

Katja Lucas, senior project manager Design Works, has been working for Dutch Design Foundation (DDF) in Eindhoven since 2003. She studied at the renowned Design Academy Eindhoven. During her studies she developed a passion for design and collaborations. Katja has extensive management experience in design projects and programs. She has contributed to the success of Dutch Design Week (DDW), the event that is nationally and internationally recognized as the leading design event in Europe. In 2018  it attracted 350,000 visitors and offered a platform for 2500 designers with over 500 events. For over 12 years Katja was responsible for the content and quality of the program. Since 2018, she has been responsible for talent development within DDF. Tthe focus is on the master and coaching program Driving Dutch Design together with the partners BNO and ABN AMRO. Every year, 20 studios are selected who undertake an intensive professionalization process for 10 months. She scouts and invites designers and strengthens their studios by making productive connections. Katja Lucas among others was also responsible for several exhibitions at the Design House Eindhoven commissioned by DDF. She cooperates in the online international design platform Dutch Design Daily’s, and is a member of the advisery board of TEDxEindhoven. She is a jury member for several awards in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

Julius Wiedemann's book "Product Design in the Sustainable Era" is one of the most influential books on sustainable design. Julius Wiedemann was born in Brazil where he studied design and marketing. As Executive Editor for Design and Pop Culture as well as Director for Digital Publications at the international publishing house TASCHEN, he was responsible for more than 40 books. He is the author of numerous magazine contributions and has already been involved as a juror in several international competitions. In total, more than 1.5 million copies of Wiedemann's publications have been sold worldwide, including titles such as "Information Graphics," "Product Design in the Sustainable Era," "Illustration Now!", "Logo Design," and "Japanese Graphics Now! ", and many more.

Professor Martin Charter MBA FRSA is the Founding Director of The Centre for Sustainable Design ® at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) that was established in 1995. Martin has more than 29 year’s experience in a wide range of topics related to sustainable business with particular expertise in sustainable innovation and product sustainability. Martin has sat on many international expert committees and advisory boards including P&G, Interface, World Resources Forum and Eco-innovation Observatory. He is the organizer of the Sustainable Innovation series of international conferences that is now in its 21st year. Martin has authored research on new ‘green’ business models, sustainable innovation, product design and remanufacturing and marketing & sustainability.

Xin Liu is Vice Director of the Art and Science Research Center of the Institute of Sustainable Design at Tsinghua University. His main research in on Sustainable Design, User Research and Product Service System Design. He is the director of LeNS-China (The Learning Network on Sustainability), which includes China's top 15 universities and co-founder of DESIS-China, an alliance for social innovation and sustainable design in China. Additionally, he is Chairman of the Tsinghua University’s DESIS International Alliance Academy of Arts & Design. In 2012, he was elected Educational Officer of the "Excellent University Talents of the Turn of the Century".

Jewell Sparks the founder and managing Director of BiTHOUSE Venture Group /UNITED17 Ventures. Her initiative UNITED17 Venture Lab aims to support brands who create products and services by helping them to employ and build awareness of their products and services amongst youth, mothers and underrepresented groups. She is an American scientist turned innovation/transformation strategist, investor and venture development executive living between Germany and Denmark. Jewell is on the Masters in Entrepreneurship Board and a guest lecturer on Innovation and Transformation at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management. She mentors and advises and has sat on several juries for corporate, educational and government programs (Samsung for Impact, Impact EdTech, BSH Connected Home, Alchemist, Techfounders, Projekt Zukunft, Startup Bootcamp, Roche, Venture Cup, EIT, VentureCrush, MassChallenge and more) focused on innovation, transformation and sustainability spanning the areas of health, food, fashion and consumer electronics. She founded OTGC- On the Green Carpet in 2011 and was the acting VP of Sustainable Health for Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute focused on safe materials prior to moving to Germany in 2013.