Keynote speakers
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Raimund Bleischwitz University College London - London, Great Britain, Keynote theme: The Resource Nexus - a Risk Radar in an Uncertain WorldRaimund BleischwitzKeynote theme: The Resource Nexus - a Risk Radar in an Uncertain World
Raimund Bleischwitz is Chair in Sustainable Global Resources at the University College London (UCL) and Director of the UCL Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources (UCL BSEER). He has been Principal Investigator of an international collaborative project on the circular economy in China (SINCERE), and he participates in a number of EU projects on eco-innovation and raw minerals. He was Deputy Director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources (UCL ISR) until July 2018. Raimund has a PhD and a ‘Habilitation’ in economics and more than 250 publications - most recently the Routledge Handbook of the Resource Nexus.
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Christina Dornack Institute of Waste Management and Circular Economy at TU Dresden – Dresden, GermanyChristina DornackChristina Dornack is Director of the Institute and Head of the Chair “Waste Management and Circular Economy” at TU Dresden. She has participated in several international projects, for example WATRA, SludgeTec, Waste to (positive) Energy and SEA-PLASTIC-EDU.
Additional to lecturing and researching she has published numerousness reports and research articles and has written textbooks in the area of waste management and circular economy.
Since 1998 Christina has been organising the Anaerobic digestion conference (Biogastagung) in Dresden. Additionally, among other things, she is PRISMA board member, DBFZ research advisory committee member, DGAW scientific advisory board member and DECHEMA panel of experts member. Christina’s research focusses on circular economy, solid waste management, anaerobic digestion and sustainability actions in cleaner production.
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Brendan Edgerton World Business Council for Sustainable Development - Geneva, Switzerland, Keynote theme: Circular Economy in the Private SectorBrendan EdgertonKeynote theme: Circular Economy in the Private Sector
Brendan is the Director of Circular Economy at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a global, CEO-led organization of over 200 companies working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world. He co-developed and manages Factor10, WBCSD’s flagship circular economy project, convening 40 companies from over 15 industries and countries.
Since joining WBCSD in Geneva in 2015, Brendan has authored or contributed to over 15 publications on the circular economy, including the CEO Guide to the Circular Economy, CEO Guide to the Circular Bioeconomy and 8 Business Cases to the Circular Economy. Most recently, he has contributed to the establishment of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and oversaw the delivery of the Circular Transition Indicators and associated tool.
Brendan has an MBA from the Yale School of Management, a Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and a bachelor’s in Ecological Design from the University of California Santa Cruz.
A native of Los Angeles, California, Brendan loves the beach, Mexican food and local sports. Go Lakers & Dodgers!
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Sasha Koo-Oshima UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) - Rome, Italy, Keynote theme: Water food and energy nexus: The FAO nexus perspectiveSasha Koo-OshimaKeynote theme: Water Food and Energy Nexus: The FAO Nexus Perspective
Sasha Koo-Oshima is currently Deputy Director of the Land & Water Division at the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO); leading programs on agricultural water development and governance, data, and integrated water resources management with linkages to climate, energy, health and nutrition. She has over 25 years of experience in international assistance and policy development and is currently the Governing Board Member of the World Water Council. A former Director at the U.S. EPA and Secretariat of the OECD, she directed and managed international water programs/compacts with donor agencies on various programs covering public-private-partnerships, climate resilience, multi-stakeholder and multi-jurisdictional policy engagements, blended financing/resource mobilization, and effective policy governance in sustainable water and natural resource-agriculture management.
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David M. Malone UN Under-Secretary-General, Rector of the United Nations University - Tokio, Japan, Keynote theme: Perspectives on the Sustainable Development GoalsDavid M. MaloneKeynote theme: Perspectives on the Sustainable Development Goals
Dr Malone is Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Rector of the United Nations University. Prior to joining the United Nations University on 1 March 2013, Dr David Malone served (2008–2013) as President of Canada’s International Development Research Centre, a funding agency supporting policy-relevant research in the developing world.
Dr Malone had earlier served as Canada’s Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council and as Ambassador to the United Nations (1990–1994); as Director General of the Policy, International Organizations and Global Issues Bureaus within Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT, 1994–1998); and as President of the International Peace Academy (now International Peace Institute), a New York-based independent research and policy development institution (1998–2004). He oversaw Canada’s economic and multilateral diplomacy within DFAIT (2004–2006) and served as Canada’s High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan and Nepal (2006–2008).
Dr Malone also has held research posts in the Economic Studies Program, Brookings Institution; Massey College, University of Toronto; and Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University. He has been a Guest Scholar and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, and an Adjunct Professor at the New York University School of Law, where he is currently a Senior Fellow.
He holds a degree from l’École des Hautes Études Commerciales (Montreal); studied at the American University of Cairo; holds an MPA from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government; and earned a DPhil in International Relations from Oxford University.
Dr Malone has published extensively, in both academic and lighter veins. His latest books are The UN Security Council in the 21st Century (as co-editor; 2015, Lynne Rienner Publishers) and the second edition of Law and Practice of the United Nations (co-authored graduate textbook; 2016; Oxford University Press).
In summer 2017, Dr Malone was reappointed for a second term as UNU Rector (2018–2023).