René VAN BERKEL (PhD) is a leading international sustainability, innovation and industrial development professional with over 35 years international experience with a particular focus on resource efficiency and circular economy. Dr Van Berkel currently holds a position of international expert faculty in sustainability and innovation at the School of Global Studies, Thammasat University (Bangkok, Thailand). Moreover, he works as Senior Expert (Circular Economy) particularly in South East Asia, contributing, amongst others to the EU SWITCH Asia Policy Support Component on Sustainable Consumption and Production. Dr Van Berkel worked at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), in the roles of UNIDO Representative and Head of the Regional Office in India (Feb 2017-Aug 2023), Chief Technical Advisor on Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production in Indonesia (June 2015 – Feb 2017) and Chief of Cleaner and Sustainable Production Unit (May 2008 – June 2015).From 2006 to 2008, Dr Van Berkel operated independently and completed assignments in evaluation and programme development for UNIDO, UNEP, UNU and ESCAP and applied research consultancies for leading research institutes and private sector in Australia and Japan. From 1999 to 2006, Dr Van Berkel was Australia’s first full Professor of Cleaner Production located at Curtin University of Technology. From 1989 to 1999 René held various applied research and leadership roles at the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands). Dr Van Berkel is an interdisciplinary environmentalist by education with a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and Masters and Bachelor in Environmental Hygiene from the Agricultural State University (Wageningen, The Netherlands).
Keynote Speech: Circular Economy from Ambition to Business Action: a case for science for sustainability illustrated for Southeast Asia
Dr. Makov investigates the potential to address social and environmental challenges through sustainable technologies, business practices, and consumption shifts. Adopting a systems approach, she draws from the fields of Industrial ecology, Data science, and Behavioural economics, and combines methods including Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), machine learning, and psychological experiments. Her goal is to generate insights informing theory, policy, and real-world decision making on issues such as digitalization, sustainable food systems, and the circular economy.Makov’s work has been published in high impact journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Nature Climate Change, and Nature communications, and is funded by multiple sources including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Internet Society Foundation, Israeli Science Foundation (ISF), and the German - Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF). Makov is the head of the Circular Economy lab and a tenured faculty member at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). She holds a PhD and MA in Environmental Management from Yale University, and a B.Sc. in Nutrition science from HUJI.
Keynote Speech: Expected vs. actual environmental benefits of alternative provisioning systems
Known widely to business and public for his previous role as the Vice President of Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), and Executive Director of Thailand Business Council for Sustainable Development (TBCSD). Dr. Chaiyod Bunyagidj engaged intensively with corporate environmental and social responsibility as well as the national policy and strategy for sustainable development. He worked closely with government agencies, private sectors and international organizations, and handled many projects in the areas of environmental management system and auditing, sustainable consumption and production, eco-labeling, green procurement, eco-efficiency including education for sustainable development and capacity building. His contribution to society was well recognized through his responsibility as advisor, committee member, working group member, and many positions for public/private organizations and programs. Dr. Chaiyod is currently a Board Member of the Asia Pacific Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production (APRSCP) and Advisor for International Green Purchasing Network (IGPN). Recently he has been invited to join Thai SCP Network as Vice President.
Keynote Speech: SCP Towards SD: Thailand Experiences
Professor Krishna Prapoorna is an internationally accomplished academician with over 20 years of combined research, teaching, and administrative experience in India, USA, and Sweden. He is currently a Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati, India. His expertise embodies multitude aspects of sustainable transportation infrastructure, innovative materials, performance monitoring, asset management, and circular economy, chiefly supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG). He serves as: Associate Editor of the Elsevier’s Resources, Conservation and Recycling Journal; Associate Editor of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering; Associate Editor of the Taylor & Francis’ International Journal of Road Materials and Pavement Design; Editorial Board Member of the American Society for Testing and Materials International Journal of Testing and Evaluation; Associate Editor of the Springer Nature Innovative Infrastructure Solutions. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India). Further, he also serves as an External Faculty Member at Purdue University and Adjunct Professor of Arizona State University, USA. Currently, he is one of the Co-Chairs of the USA-based Transportation Research Board subcommittee on Pavement Lifecyle, and EU-based RILEM task group chair of the committee focused on field evaluation of alternative pavement design and performance. Further, he is Vice President (South Asia) of the international Society for Maintenance And Rehabilitation of Transport infrastructures (iSMARTi). He is associated with various international societies such as the USA-based NAE, ASTM International, RILEM, ASCE, IRF, iSMARTi, etc.
Keynote Speech: Plastic-Rubber Conglomerates for Green Road Infrastructure Applications: A Multidimensional Solution for Resourceful Consumption
Dr. Junbeum KIM is an associate professor in CREIDD-Interdisciplinary research on transition towards sustainable socio-technical systems UR InSyTE (Interdisciplinary research on Society-Technology-Environment Interactions)at University of Technology of Troyes (UTT), France. He is conducting research about environmental footprints and mappings in urban system, life cycle assessment and material flow analysis, sustainable resource management in emerging wastes, and development of carbon reduction factors etc. Currently, he is an IEP (Independent Evaluation Panel) expert for the EUREKA and Eurostar3 project. Also, as an associate editor, he is working for Resources, Conservation & Recycling. He holds a Ph.D. from Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering at Arizona State University (U.S.) on December in 2008, a Master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University (U.S.) and Environmental Engineering from Inha University in South Korea. After 2 years Post-Doc. experiences in University of California, Santa Barbara and University of Minnesota, he joined University of Technology of Troyes in France.
Keynote Speech: Evaluating Urban Impact: Insights from Environmental Footprint Analysis
Dr. Yutao Wang is a professor in environmental system engineering at Fudan University, and Deputy Dean of the Shanghai Energy and Carbon Neutrality Strategy Research Institute, and Deputy Director of the Fudan Tyndall Center. He has authored over 120 papers in leading journals such as Nature, Environmental Science & Technology, and Global Environmental Change. His recent contributions include co-authoring the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) 2024 Global Bioeconomy Assessment, which focuses on the coordinated efforts of policy, innovation, and sustainability for a greener future. Dr. Wang's research addresses key sustainability challenges, including the role of bioeconomy in advancing sustainable industrial practices and reducing global land-use emissions and impacts on the ecosystem and biodiversity. He has led significant research projects, including the National Key R&D Program, and the UNEP-NSFC International Cooperation project. Dr. Wang also serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cleaner Production and has received numerous accolades, including the National Outstanding Youth Science Foundation and the UK Newton Advanced Fellowship, for his leadership in promoting sustainable development and carbon neutrality.
Keynote Speech: Global Bioeconomy Assessment: Coordinated Efforts of Policy, Innovation, and Sustainability for a Greener Future
