Sustainable Switzerland Forum 2025: Orientation in Times of Transformation

The jury selected 15 winners in three categories from over 240 nominations. In the coming months, these winners will be portrayed in the NZZ Sustainable Switzerland environment in order to make role models visible and to bring the relevance of sustainable change closer to a broad public. More information on the Sustainable Shapers can be found at this link.

These are the award winners:

Leadership & Transformation:


Albin Kälin, founder and CEO of epeaswitzerland gmbh
Christian Zeyer, Co-CEO of swisscleantech
Hans-Dietrich Reckhaus, founder and CEO of INSECT-RESPECT
Julia Carpenter, co-founder and CEO of apheros
Oliver Brunschwiler, member of the Board of Directors and investor

Knowledge & Opinion:


Mathis Wackernagel, Co-Founder Global Footprint Network
Nathalie Agosti, Founder and Managing Director of Outlive Advisory
Simone Nägeli, Co-founder and Co-Managing Director of Acker Switzerland
Ursula Biemann, artist
Walter Stahel, founder of Product Life Institute

Vision & Innovation:


Aurélien Demaurex, CFO and co-founder of Ecorobotix
Nicolas Rochat, founder and CEO of Mover Plastic Free Sportswear
Philipp Furler, co-founder and CEO of Synhelion
Pirmin Jung, founder and CEO of PIRMIN JUNG Schweiz AG
Vincent Vida, founder and CEO of Upgrain

Exclusive CEO dinner

The evening before, around 100 CEOs from leading Swiss companies met for an exclusive dinner. The guest speakers were José María Figueres (former President of Costa Rica), Sandrine Dixson-Declève (CEO of Earth4All & Honorary President of the Club of Rome) and Daniel Bischofberger (CEO of Accelleron Switzerland). The evening event offered a high-caliber platform for exchange and inspiration at C-level.

Practical kick-off in the morning with three topic streams

Around 40 national and international speakers shaped the program on the day of the conference:

Focus Topic «Circular Economy»

Antonia Stalder (Managing Director, Prozirkula) illustrated how circular procurement enhances security of supply, stabilises prices and fosters innovation. The start-ups Lumvin and Luya contributed fresh perspectives. «We want to be a driver of innovation for sustainable solutions», emphasised Kristjan Jozipovic (CEO and Co-Founder, Lumvin), while Nina Schaller (Co-CEO & Co-Founder, Luya) highlighted the opportunities of fermented by-products.

Jörg Lederbauer (Head of Circular Economy, BMW Group) explained how closed material cycles in high-voltage batteries contribute to conserving resources: «New technologies open up new business models – stay open to them.»

Focus Topic «Supply Chains in Tension»

Andrea Rauber Saxer (Ambassador & Head of Bilateral Economic Relations, SECO) outlined the geopolitical challenges and stressed that sustainability remains indispensable despite uncertainties: «Sustainability is not a luxury, but a fact».

Stefan Brupbacher (Director, Swissmem) warned of the consequences of tightened customs regulations for the export-oriented industry and urged greater vigilance. Christoph Birchler (CEO, Maestrani) highlighted the opportunities of pragmatic approaches despite rising commodity prices: «We think too much in terms of regulations and too little in terms of solutions.»

Focus Topic «AI & Energy Management»

The third focus topic built a bridge between innovation and regulation. Adam Elman (Sustainability Director, Google) demonstrated how artificial intelligence enables efficiency gains that are both ecologically and economically beneficial. Together with Sebnem Erzan and Max Vogler, Google presented the Contrails project, which uses AI to reduce climate-damaging contrails in aviation.

A highlight of the forum was the Munk Debate on the Switzerland–EU electricity agreement. Jürg Grossen (Member of the National Council and President, Green Liberal Party) advocated for international connectivity, while Christian Imark (Member of the National Council, Swiss People’s Party) and Pierre-Yves Maillard (Member of the Council of States, Social Democratic Party) voiced concerns about sovereignty and market liberalisation. Anton Gunzinger (Adjunct Professor, ETH Zurich) underlined the importance of independent solutions and of choosing a self-determined timing for negotiations.

Global perspective and leadership

On the main stage, Jim Hagemann Snabe (Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Siemens) spoke about the role of responsible leadership in times of radical change: «It is not opportunities we lack, but leadership.» Sandrine Dixson-Declève (Honorary Co-President, Club of Rome) called for greater courage in driving deep systemic change. To close, José María Figueres (former President of Costa Rica) encouraged collaboration in tackling climate change, resource scarcity and geopolitical tensions.

The Sustainable Switzerland Forum 2025 demonstrated how closely intertwined ecological, economic and scoial challenges are. Open dialogue among diverse stakeholders remains crucial in developing viable and future-oriented solutions.