Keynote Speakers
Dr Lučka Kajfež Bogataj
Professor Emeritus at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Time and location: Thursday, June 6, 2024, 12.00-13.00 (CEST), Sala Conferenze
Abstract of the Keynote Speech: The Significance of Planetary Boundaries in Shaping Global Governance and Sustainability
Imagine Earth as a delicate ecosystem, with interconnected cycles and systems that support life as we know it. Planetary boundaries serve as guardrails for human activity, defining the safe operating space within which we can thrive without causing irreversible harm to our planet. This framework guides us in navigating our actions to avoid tipping these delicate balances, ensuring that we don't disrupt vital biological and chemical processes that sustain Earth's systems. It's like having rules for a game: by respecting these boundaries, we protect the health and stability of our shared home. Increasingly recognized on a global scale, the concept of planetary boundaries is shaping how governments, organizations, and communities approach environmental management. It moves us away from traditional sector-focused strategies towards a holistic understanding of the limits within which human development can flourish sustainably.
Short biography:
Lučka Kajfež Bogataj is professor emeritus at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Her areas of research include biometeorology, climate change impacts on ecosystems and human well-being. Her expertise as a climate scientist is internationally recognized and she was, as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2002 – 2016) the joint recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. She was also a member of the Steering Committee for the Global Climate Observation System at the World Meteorological Organisation. In 2016 she became a member of the UNESCO Expert Group on the Declaration on Ethical Principles in Relation to Climate Change. She was listed among Women Who Inspire Europe in 2012 by the European Institute for Gender Equality. She has shared her expertise at many national and international conferences and in various media.
Dr Francesco Testa
Full Professor of Sustainability of Management at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, Italy
Time and location: Thursday, June 6, 2024, 10.30-11.30 (CEST), Sala Conferenze
Abstract of the Keynote Speech: Untangling the Complex Relationship between Business and Sustainability
According to the United Nations, the world is currently grappling with a Triple Planetary Crisis involving climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. These crises are highly interconnected, making the issue particularly challenging and complex. Such interconnection between the crises makes it clear that dealing with them independently is no longer sufficient. In such process the role of business is pivotal. It is imperative to take a holistic and integrated approach capable of grasping the complexity of nature and its relationship to human activities, of which companies are a prominent manifestation that needs to be deepened. Moving beyond short-term approach is essential. Embracing complexity by recognizing tensions can trigger creative solutions, necessary to make business really sustainable. However, in order to trigger a change of course and reverse the worrying trend of nature degradation, it is not enough to act only at an operational level. Practical solutions need to be complemented with a radical, ontological, change in the ways in which the relationship between humans and nature is conceived.
Short biography:
Francesco Testa is Full Professor of Sustainability of Management at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa where he coordinates the research group on Life Cycle Management, Vice-Director of the Institute of Management and partner of the Spin-off Ergo srl. His main research areas concern the relationship between institutional pressures, motivational drivers and environmental and economic performance, circular economy business models and sustainable entrepreneurship. He has participated in numerous research projects promoted by the European Commission in the field of environmental management. He is Associate Editor of Business Strategy & Environment and CSR&EM and member of the Editorial Board of Organization & Environment. He is the author of more than 100 articles, books and book chapters on these topics.
Keynote Speaker - PreConference Day
Dr Antonella Zucchella
Professor of Marketing and of Circular entrepreneurship, University of Pavia, Italy
Time and location: Wednesday, June 5, 2024, 15.00 - 15.45 (CEST)
Short biography:
Antonella Zucchella is professor of Marketing and of Circular entrepreneurship at the University of Pavia in Italy. She has been visiting professor in various universities in Europe and the US and visiting researcher at Harvard Business School in 2019. Her research interests are in international entrepreneurship, international business, sustainability and circular entrepreneurship. She published several articles in international journals and is also author of books on entrepreneurship. She has been awarded by International Business Review for the best article in 2018, she received the Emerald literati award for most outstanding paper in Multinational Business Review in 2017, twice awarded for the best paper in the International Business conference AIB. She has been keynote speaker in several international conferences.