Scientific Committee

Dr. Jelena Barbir is a biologist with a PhD degree in Sustainable Landscape Management. Currently she is working at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany, as a researcher and a lead project manager of the H2020 project BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE and Interreg project BALTIPLAST. She is also deputy director of the Research Center “Climate Change and Sustainable Management” (FTZ-NK) and Head of the Environment & Circular Economy FTZ-NK Unit. She is an expert in sustainable development and her current interests are focused on sustainable usage of bio-based and biodegradable plastics.

Full professor at the University of Bologna, her main research topics are in Environmental Engineering with particular regard to treatment, recovery and recycling of raw materials and solid waste, to the life cycle assessment and Circular Economy, to dissemination of urban Green Technologies and unconventional building materials for climate change resilience in urban areas.

She founded and coordinates the research group of Transition Engineering whose activities are aimed at building a sustainable future by environmentally, socially and economically point of view, through conservation and valorization of natural resources, raw materials, water and energy.
A precise research concerns the application of the above topics in cooperation activity for developing and emerging countries. Numerous publications and collaborations with national and international universities.

Delegate of UNIBO at UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN, New York) and at UE Commission Operational Groups of the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials (EIP Raw Materials)

Angelo Paletta teaches and researches on Internal controls, Cost Management; Corporate performance measurement, Corporate bankruptcy and turnaround, Public Management, Educational Leadership, Governance and accountability of Universities; Circular economy and business models. He is currently coordinator of the European Horizon 2020 project "Developing and Implementing Sustainability-Based Solutions for Bio-Based Plastic Production and Use to Preserve Land and Sea Environmental Quality in Europe".

Prof. Dr. Žaneta Stasiškienė Director of the Institute of Environmental Engineering Kaunas University of Technology (KUT), Lithuania. Her experience under UNEP DTIE was transferred to Africa, Asia, South and Central America, Europe and covers areas of Sustainability and Smart cities development, sustainable innovation and business models for circular economy. She is a leader of the KUT Research Group on Smart and Sustainable cities, which integrates interdisciplinary scientist and research fields - sustainable urban development, circular cities, society engagement (co-creation), sustainable (personalized) food systems. Her special interest covers areas of industry transformation to circular economy, value chain analysis and establishment of industrial symbiosis on city scale.