In Davos, Futur/io House Hosts Debates on Sustainability, Innovation and How to Co-Create Desirable Futures
February 7, 2025
Corporate sustainability leaders, startups, venture capitalists, researchers, scientists, investors, entrepreneurs, activists and all types of thinkers gathered at the Schatzalp Chalet, in Davos, Switzerland. At the top of the mountains, they debated innovative ways to co-create desirable futures, under the curation of Harald Neidhardt, CEO and Founder of the Futur/io Institute.
“We’ve had energising conversations here, with so many bright minds exchanging ideas for sustainable energy transition, circular economy, sustainable investments, ethical AI, and other topics under the theme of desirable futures,”
– celebrated Harald Neidhardt.
During the World Economic Forum week, Futur/io also presented the second European CSO Awards Gala Dinner, a celebration of the Top100 Chief Sustainability Officers of the largest companies of Europe and hosted at the Schatzalp Hotel. An exclusive CSO circle with fifteen Top 100 CSOs from €1+ BN companies across Europe started the week with an intimate, invite-only workshop.
All week long, Futur/io House was the stage to a series of panels, discussions and exchange of ideas, that would continue into the night in a more informal way, with live music and dining delights, during the lively Futur/io Night Caps.
Sustainable Investment Forum
https://www.futur.io/events/davos-sustainable-investment-forum-2025
On Tuesday morning, the Sustainable Investment Forum delved into innovative solutions to environmental issues and sustainable solutions & finance initiatives.
Maurizio Zollo, Director of the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society from the Imperial College, presented a study on Corporate Sustainability and investment returns. Right after that, Tobias Raffel, from the European Biodiversity Coalition, presented a keynote and joined a panel about biodiversity and nature positive initiatives.
A host of companies including Terra Impact Ventures, Lightrock, Ceezer Software, Supernatural, Glacier, Rainforest Partnership, and Wild Planet presented their innovative solutions to finance, storytelling, carbon credits and a host of other topics.
The importance of the supply chain in achieving sustainability in companies and organisations was the theme of a panel discussion with three sustainability officers: Nick Heine, of IntegrityNext, Elena Morettini, of Globant, and Julian Fieres, of the ZF Mobility Group. They shared their views and opinions and the panel was moderated by Futur/io CEO Harald Neidhardt.
Ethical AI Salon
https://www.futur.io/events/ethical-ai-salon-2025
During the afternoon, the Ethical AI Salon promoted a deep dive into the challenges of AI and ethics in a world of unregulated & unleashed exponential AI tech growth.
Daniel Barcay, Co-Director of the Center for Humane Technology, discussed the impact of AI in society in his opening keynote. Daniel Erasmus, CEO of ClimateGPT and member of The Club of Rome talked about how to use AI to track climate change and inform decision making. They participated in a panel including Daniel Barcay, Danny Herrmann, Co-Founder of Quantum-as-a-Service company Dynex Moonshots, and Anna Gawlikowska, CEO of Swiss AI.
Other presentations included initiatives featured by Made in Sustainability, that improve children’s mental health with AI, as well as regulate the biases present in new technologies and their social impact.
Energy Futures Forum
https://www.futur.io/events/energy-futures-forum-2025
On Wednesday, the Energy Futures Forum explored the myriad ways innovation can gear energy production towards sustainable futures, as well as the importance of circularity initiatives.
Following a keynote from Ann Dunkin, former Chief Information Officer of the US Department of Energy, companies such as Waste Equity, Made in Sustainability, Vestas, Bton, SimpliFlying and Infinium, presented ground breaking initiatives on wind farms, concrete decarbonisation, circularity optimization, sustainable aviation, energy production from fashion waste, and many more.
Other presenters included Extantia, Weev, Actual, Innovando, Recyclium, Web Summit and Top Tier Impact, showcasing a diverse range of solutions and innovations. Their insights sparked engaging discussions, fostering a morning of enriching and optimistic exchanges between speakers and the audience.
Impact Futures Salon
https://www.futur.io/events/impact-futures-salon-2025
Finally, on Thursday, as the Davos week was drawing to a close, the Impact Futures Salon reunited Marc Buckley, from the ALOHAS Regenerative Foundation, Niyanta Spelman, of the Rainforest Partnership, Sophia Swire, from Gender Equity Diversity Investments (GEDI), David Rock, from the NeuroLeadership Institute, Nassim Haramein, Quantum pioneer from the International Space Federation, Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri, from Open Origin, and many more in a collaborative forecasting exercise.
The group looked at desirable futures, projecting how we, from the year 2030, found solutions to some of the most challenging issues of the world today. For an afternoon, the Futur/io House, surrounded by the snowy Alps mountains, was the epicentre of a world where biodiversity, energy and peace were not concerns, but accomplishments.
An exclusive movie preview of ‘The Regeneration Generation’, by film maker Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri, was the emotional highlight of the afternoon. For a brief moment, the audience was transported to the Amazon Forest, in a powerful reminder that we are all part of nature and that everything is connected. An inspiring way to wrap up a week of blooming discussions.
Energised, the participants left the gatherings looking at the year ahead, and already making plans for the 2026 edition of the Futur/io House.
Futur/io House Davos 2025 was co-created with Made in Sustainability and supported by partners like Integrity Next, Good Carbon, Wild Planet, Terra Impact Ventures, Waste Equity, SimpliFlying, Glacier, We don’t have Time, Illuminem, Digital Economist, Top Tier Impact and Ceezer.
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Media Relations
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