Get inspired by the speakers invited at #ETtalks

Smart buildings: getting the basics right

Lars Tveen – President, Danfoss Heating Segment

In his #ETtalks session, Lars invites us to think of smart, efficient homes, hotels and office buildings as the new normal, and take action. And it all starts by getting the basic rights: optimizing the control of energy use in buildings benefits our pockets and the planet, equally.

 

Urban Tech Trends: Hype Wars

Many of the problems we are facing today, such as the level of CO₂ emissions, result from a failure in technology. So how do we make sure to make the right choices, instead of going for hyped technologies? For Jens Martin Skibsted, designing a better tomorrow, starts with a proper vision, anchored in the understanding of people’s needs.

Jens Martin Skibsted - Designer, Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Cities and Urbanization

Designer and design thinker whose work has been collected by SFMOMA, MoMA, The Danish Museum of Art & Design and Le CNAP.

He introduced a new path to urban sustainability by making bicycles that compete with combustion cars. Skibsted is the creator of the bike company Biomega, the African design magazine Ogojiii, and design studio KiBiSi, which he co-founded with Danish architect Bjarke Ingels and product designer Lars Holme Larsen. He consults out of Skibsted Ideation. A Young Global Leader alumnus, he was Vice-Chair of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Design & Innovation and is now a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Cities and Urbanization. He serves as the Vicechair of D2i – Design to innovate and is currently also a Board Member of the Bitten and Mads Clausen (Danfoss) Foundation, and the Danish Design Centre. Skibsted has co-authored design strategy books and serves as an ad hoc expert blogger for the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and the Huffington Post.

Smart Cities: what about the people?

Bold decisions have shaped the journey of a city from almost bankrupt to the most sustainable and livable in the world. In her #ETtalks session, Anette explains the factors influencing this transition, its impact, and she also raises the question whether it’s time to be bold again, to make sure tomorrow’s smart cities are also social and inclusive.

Anette Galskjøt - CEO, IFHP

Anette joined the International Federation of Housing and Planning (IFHP) in 2015. The last two years Anette has led the transformation of the 104-year-old organization to be relevant for the 21st century, which has resulted in a new strong focus on social cities. She has a Danish law degree and an LLM from Kings College, London and is currently enrolled at the London School of Economics (Exec. MSc, Cities), a degree she expects to finalize in February 2018. Anette has been working with leadership, stakeholder relations, consulting and project management for more than 20 years in a.o. investment banking, IT and international trade. Anette is a member of the strategic advisory board of OvaCure, board member of Skovsnogen and member of the strategic advisory board of the Future of Urban Development and Services Initiative under the World Economic Forum.

District Heating and the European Energy Transition

Our communities are surrounded by the resources we need to heat and cool our buildings – so why going for the complicated solutions? At #ETtalks, Paul explains that district heating and cooling, when done properly, can be a future-proof solution for cities to meet their sustainability goals.

Paul Voss - Director General, Euroheat & Power

Paul Voss has been active in the EU energy policy debate for 12 years and has been the Director of Euroheat & Power since late 2013. Prior to this, he was Head of Public Affairs at Danfoss District Energy, a global leader in the field of efficient technology for heating and cooling networks.

Together with his team of extremely talented and award winning colleagues at Euroheat, Paul spends his working days telling stories, drinking coffee and arguing (1) that there can be no real energy transition without a fundamental change in the way we heat our buildings and (2) that district heating and cooling, when it’s done properly, has a massive role to play in achieving this, particularly in cities.

Be smart: unlock the potential of energy efficiency

Energy efficiency is at the heart of the energy transition, it is the first fuel, it is something we are all able to do across sectors, industries, transport, buildings, and in our homes. In his talk, John Dulac, explains how we can we “sell” the concept of energy efficiency and move from talk to action.

John Dulac - Buildings Sector Lead, IEA

John Dulac is an Energy Analyst in the Directorate of Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks at the International Energy Agency. He leads the energy technology and policy analysis in the buildings sector, contributing to IEA efforts to better understand the implications for an energy-efficient, low-carbon economy.

Smart buildings: getting the basics right

In his #ETtalks session, Lars invites us to think of smart, efficient homes, hotels and office buildings as the new normal, and take action. And it all starts by getting the basic rights: optimizing the control of energy use in buildings benefits our pockets and the planet, equally.

Lars Tveen - President, Danfoss Heating Segment

Lars Tveen is the President of the Heating Segment at Danfoss – a global leader in energy efficient technology and solutions.

Danfoss Heating offers heating and cooling solutions for generating, distributing and adjusting heat by providing an efficient green infrastructure which contributes to achieving optimum indoor comfort and energy savings in residential and commercial buildings all over the world.

Smart water infrastructure: the hidden power in your toilet flush

The water challenge: at one end we’re facing a water crisis, one of the top 5 crises predicted by the World Economic Forum, at the other end, a water industry that consumes a huge amount of energy and allows for precious water to be wasted. What is the role of the toilet flush in solving this challenge? Learn more from Mads’ presentation.

Mads Warming - Global Lead, Water & Wastewater, Danfoss Drives Segment

Mads Warming has more than 25 years a lot of theoretical and practical experience in the Water & Wastewater industry. He has received an Innovation award at WEFTEC, as well as an innovation award from CAMBICA, UK for the energy neutrality concept. 

He is also board member of Danish Environmental Technology Association.

The potential of energy efficiency in buildings

In her #ETtalks session, Rachel asks us to imagine a world of innovations, driven by efficiency, which brings the answers to today pressing energy and climate challenges. Learn more at ettalks.danfoss.com.

Rachel Kyte – Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All.

Rachel Kyte is a leading advocate for sustainable development and drives SEforALL’s work to mobilize action towards its 2030 goals for universal energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy. As SRSG, she is the UN’s key person for attaining the global goal for sustainable energy.

In her ET talk, Rachel asks us to imagine a world of innovations, driven by efficiency, which bring the answers to today pressing energy and climate challenges. 

 

Senseable cities

At #ETtalks, Carlo brings a set of inspiring examples - from New York, Rome, or Naples, on how new digital tools can be used to create tomorrow’s smart cities. Learn more at ettalks.danfoss.com. Learn more at ettalks.danfoss.com.

Carlo Ratti – Director, MIT Senseable City Lab, and Founding Partner, Carlo Ratti Associati

A leading voice in the debate on new technologies’ impact on urban life, his work has been exhibited in several venues worldwide, including the Venice Biennale, New York’s MoMA, London’s Science Museum, and Barcelona’s Design Museum. Two of his projects, the Digital Water Pavilion and the Copenhagen Wheel, were hailed by Time Magazine as some of their ‘Best Inventions of the Year’. He has also been included in Wired Magazine’s ‘Smart List: 50 people who will change the world’.

He is currently serving as co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cities and Urbanization and as special advisor on Urban Innovation to the European Commission.

Far future scenarios

Forecasting is not fortune-telling. Natalia explains the #ETtalks audience the principles behind her work and describes some of the scenarios on how the world will look like in 2068, extracted from her latest report.

Natalia Hatalska – Trend watcher, analyst, founder and leader of infuture hatalska foresight institute

Author of the hatalska.com blog on forecasting and non-traditional communication – recognized as one of 10 the most influential professional blogs in Poland. Author of the best-selling book "Cząstki przyciągania” (“Particles of Attraction”) about non-traditional forms of communication. She has penned numerous reports on some of the most vital trends, including the industry-recognized TrendBook, published since 2011.

Future-proof workplace

At #ETtalks, Kararzyna helps us image how the office space will look like, smell, and function in 20-30 years from now and explains why we need to make sustainability a priority when turning this vision into reality.

Katarzyna Zawodna - Bijoch - President and CEO, Skanska’s Commercial Development Unit in CEE

Katarzyna Zawodna - Bijoch is President and CEO at Skanska’s commercial development unit in CEE and is responsible for the company’s strategy and operations in the area of innovative office investments in four rapidly-developing markets: Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary.

During Katarzyna’s term, Skanska’s CEE unit beats its own office space leasing records. In 2017 the volume reached 145,000 sqm in 10 CEE markets, a 10% increase, year-on-year. Under her leadership, the CEE unit took the breakthrough decision to be the first developer in the world to cover buildings with semi-transparent perovskite solar cells on a commercial scale. It is a significant milestone towards zero-energy and carbon neutral office buildings.

Katarzyna actively works to improve ethical and professional standards in the region. She is a member of the policy council at the UN Global Compact as well as member of the policy council at the Civic Congress. Katarzyna Zawodna - Bijoch graduated from The Warsaw School of Economics. In addition, she also holds the title of LEED Accredited Professional.

Building the EU’s tallest tower

Redefining Warsaw’s skyline and setting new height standards at European level – a project of this scale can happen only with a focus on green technologies and close collaboration amongst stakeholders. At #ETtalks, Stanislav shares his learnings and approach to sustainable development.

Stanislav Frnka – Country CEO, HB REAVIS Poland

Stanislav Frnka is Chief Executive Officer of HB Reavis Poland, responsible for overall business management and development across the Polish market. He was appointed to his current position in 2011, coinciding with the launch of Konstruktorska Business Center, HB Reavis’ first investment in Poland. Stanislav has been with HB Reavis Group since 2006, initially responsible for acquisitions in the CEE region (Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine and Poland).

Prior to joining HB Reavis, Stanislav worked at Benefit Finance, a Slovak consulting firm specializing in M&A activity. Serving as a financial analyst there he was responsible for selling off non-performing loans of the Slovak Consolidation Agency (€1bn) and the National Property Fund of the Slovak Republic (€360m). Stanislav graduated from City University of Seattle in Trencin, Slovakia, in 1999, where he majored in business management.

From green grocer to the center of green energy

At #ETtalks, Kjell shares the secret of tomorrow’s supermarkets. Did you know that instead of using 2% of European electricity, supermarkets could become the green energy enabler of tomorrow and substitute more than 10 conventional coal power plants in Europe?

Kjell Haakon Stroem – Senior Vice President, Cooling, Danfoss

Kjell is a global Sales and Marketing leader with experience in numerous industries including high-tech, retail, telecom and industrial goods. Having lived and worked outside of Scandinavia for 20 years, Kjell has extensive knowledge and experience of leading a global, multi-cultural business.

A city is smart if it can solve the basic problems of those living in it

In his #ETtalks session, Waldemar explains the role of the real estate developer in defining the culture of the smart cities. It’s really up to us, how we prepare the cities to host and create value for its new residents.

Waldemar Olbryk - Member of the Board and Managing Director of the residential business stream of Echo Investment S.A.

Since August 1st, 2017, Waldemar has been responsible for the residential building construction business. He is a graduate from the University of Lodz’s Management and International Trade Faculty as well as holding an MBA from the Faculty of Management at Robert H. Smith’s University in Maryland. Mr Olbryk gained his professional experience from, among others, the department of investment and maintenance at BP Poland (British Petroleum); working for Apsys Poland on the construction of Manufaktura in Lodz; leading the European Service Centre project for Philips Poland and as the President of the Board at Skanska Property Poland. He is a member of the RSA (Royal Society for the Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce) and the originator as well as a co-creator of the debates among artists, business people and academics organized under the framework of the SOUNDEDIT festival in Lodz.

8000 meters tall construction

What do mountaineers and engineers have in common? The passion and strong motivation for achieving their goals, step by step, in a sustainable way. Denis shares his experiences to the #ETtalks audience, alongside with a sense of urgency in tackling the challenges raised by climate change.

Denis Urubko – Mountaineer, the 15th person in the world to climb all 14 eight-thousanders 

Denis Urubko is a mountaineer, the 15th person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders and the 8th person to achieve this feat without the use of supplementary oxygen. He also climbed two 8,000 meter peaks in winter including Makalu in 2009 with Simone Moro and Gasherbrum II in 2011 with Cory Richards and again Simone Moro. He has also opened new routes on Cho Oyu, Manaslu and Broad Peak. All together, he has completed 19 ascents of 8,000 meter peaks. He is also a "Snow Leopard", having summited the five 7,000 meter peaks of the former USSR in only 42 days in 1999. 

On March 7th, 2018, Urubko returned from a Polish winter expedition on K2, which remains unclimbed in winter.

Artificial Intelligence in the built environment

In her interview for #ETtalks, Aleksandra takes the audience on a journey from the early beginnings of Artificial Intelligence, to its current achievements and future perspectives, with a focus on how the internet of things and machine learning will make buildings more responsive to their inhabitants’ needs and feelings.

Aleksandra Przegalińska – Philosopher and artificial intelligence expert

Aleksandra has a PhD in the philosophy of artificial intelligence, is Assistant Professor at Kozminski University, and is currently Research Fellow at the Center for Collective Intelligence at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. He was also a recent visiting scholar at The New School for Social Research, Brown University in New York City (2014). In 2011 Aleksandra worked as the Chairman of the Media Regulation Working Party at the Council of the EU in Brussels. As a William J. Fulbright Scholar, Aleksandra also majored in Sociology at The New School for Social Research in New York (2012), where she participated in research on identity within virtual reality, with particular emphasis on Second Life.

Aleksandra’s current primary research interests include the consequences of introducing artificial intelligence systems to people’s social and professional spheres as well as wearable technologies and human/bot interaction.