08. December 2025
(CONNECT) The title of this year’s Z-Forum on January 15-16, 2026 is “Building Resilience in the Age of Uncertainty”. It invites national and international experts to discuss solution-oriented approaches that enable sustainable change in times of crisis. According to the information provided, the event is hosted by the Center for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CCRS) in partnership with Wirtschaftsstandort Baden, Switzerland Innovation Park Central in Risch-Rotkreuz in the canton of Zug, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the University of Zurich, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), the University of Basel and HSLU Wirtschaft. The main sponsor of the event is the Basel-based MDPI Sustainability Foundation.
In this current era of multiple crises, the organizers see food. IT and energy security as coming under threat. However, the current risk-based approach to sustainability, as favored by high-income countries in particular, is felt to be overly defensive for developing practical and innovative solutions to address the future challenges. The conference aims to demonstrate how an opportunity-oriented approach can open up pathways to proactively respond to global environmental challenges and geopolitical shifts through the development of scalable innovations. In this context, it is anticipated that new technologies can easily be combined with established sustainable practices to enable sustainable and inclusive change.
In terms of positive examples, Switzerland and its response to the challenges of early industrialization will be discussed. Specifically, the Baden economic region is seen as an ecosystem that has thrived in highly specialized economic sectors. “Switzerland has developed into a strong, resilient and inclusive economy in the heart of Europe – thanks to joint investments in infrastructure and innovations by the public and the private sector”, comments CCRS Director Philipp Aerni.
Philipp Aerni is one of the speakers lined up for the conference, alongside other prominent figures from the worlds of academia, politics and business. These include, for example, State Secretary Martina Hirayama, Professor Annalisa Manera from ETH Zurich, Professor Keyu Jin, bestselling author from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Soil Scientist Bruno Basso from Michigan State University, Eleni Gabre-Madhin, former Chief Innovation Officer at UNDP, Pascale Bruderer, Vice-President of ETH Council, and Nora Teuwsen from ABB Switzerland.
Headquartered at Technopark Zurich, CCRS, the main organizer of the conference, is the implementation arm of the Zurich-based Swiss Sustainability Foundation. For its part, CCRS has played a part in co-developing solutions such as esg2go – an affordable, practical and science-based sustainability rating tool that helps SMEs to better meet stakeholder expectations while also acknowledging their contribution to sustainability through innovation. ce/yvh
