Sustainability Day 2025
The Sustainability Day @ZHAW on 8 April explores how AI can drive responsible learning, living, and leading.
What is something that affects everyone? That’s AI.
Join us in Winterthur for the Sustainability Day 2025 and learn more about the connection of AI with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The event addresses SDG 4- „Quality Education“, SDG 9- „Industry Innovation and Infrastructure“ and SDG 12- „Responsible consumption and production“.
Who is invited? All students from ZHAW and other universities are invited, as well as ZHAW employees and everyone interested in Sustainability and AI.
Scroll down to discover the full program for the morning, afternoon and evening, or you can go straight to the registration form.
Morning Program
09:00 – 12:00: Info Fair & Poster Session
Learn more about impactful projects and companies through an interactive info fair.
Play a round of the “Bean Bag Throwing Game”, test your knowledge on sustainability and win prizes!
There will be free coffee during the morning session.
Open Call for Projects!
Want to showcase your sustainability project at the event? Submit your poster and get featured in the Poster Session.
How it works:
- Fill out the registration form and upload your project poster
- We handle the printing of the poster
- You can choose to present in person or simply have your poster displayed
Deadline to register: 27 March
Companies at the Info Fair:
Afternoon Program
14:00 – 15:00: 1st Workshop Session
[FULLY BOOKED] Workshop 1 - Chatbots and AI Tools for Literature Search
Do you want to know what added value chatbots can provide in relation to your project research and literature references? Are you aware of the sustainability impact of these tools and how responsible usage can help mitigate their effects? This workshop will dive into these aspects.
Led by Margrit Meyer Kälin
Room: SW 121
Note: For this workshop, it is highly recommended to bring your own laptop.
→ This workshop is fully booked. You can join the waiting list to be notified if a spot opens up.
Workshop 2 - Ethical Concerns with AI
AI is transforming the way we learn, live and lead, but its ethical implications must be carefully considered. Ethical challenges such as bias, fairness, data protection or transparency will be addressed during the workshop, and you will have to assess AI’s impact and develop responsible solutions.
Led by Dr. Ana Kotarcic
Room: SW 122
Note: For this workshop, no laptop is needed.
15:00 – 16:30: 2nd Workshop Session
Workshop 3 - Application of AI for Lifecycle of Everyday Products
You will explore how AI can optimise the lifecycle of everyday products such as: smartphones, clothing and coffee. Examples include AI in the production, consumption/use and disposal phases.
Led by Thomas Kägi
Room: SW 221
Note: For this workshop, it is highly recommended to bring your own laptop.
Workshop 4 - Can a Digital World Be Green?
This workshop, led by IBM, aims to explore the environmental impact of IT systems and demonstrate how technological innovation can drive sustainable development by optimising IT infrastructures.
Led by Jonathan Specking and Joel Hartmann
Room: SW 225
Note: Laptops will be provided for this workshop.
Workshop 5 - Exploring AR, VR and Metaverse for Sustainability
Curious about how augmented reality, virtual reality, and the Metaverse can drive innovation and promote sustainable practices? Discover how Bandara uses AI and VR to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, you will also have the possibility to dive into one of the projects from Bandara for Nutreco.
Led by Urs Langenegger
Room: SW 316
Note: The needed material will be provided. However, it is recommended to bring your own laptop.
16:30 – 17:00: Coffee Break
A well-deserved rest! Enjoy some free coffee and snacks and meet other participants as interested as you in AI and sustainability.
Evening Program
17:00 – 18:30: Keynote Speeches
17:00-17:45
1st Keynote Speech - Innovation in AI: Shaping a Sustainable Future
Join us for an insightful keynote on how AI is driving transformative change for a sustainable economy and society. Learn how strategic investments in breakthrough technologies can reshape industries while addressing the challenges and risks that come with AI’s rapid advancement.
Professor of Asset Management, focus on sustainable finance, and greentech and AI in finance.
Institute of Wealth & Asset Management
ZHAW School of Management and Law
17:45-18:30
2nd Keynote Speech - Responsible Consumption and Production in AI
The increased use of AI-supported systems has strong impact on the sustainability of resulting solutions. This can be traced to specific SDGs such as SDG 9-“Industry Innovation and Infrastructure“ and SDG 12- „Responsible consumption and production”. This talk explores how can we establish operational AI innovation processes that explicitly integrates technical goals with requirements for sustainability. We discuss existing barriers to the implementation of responsible practices in AI development, identification of enabler for responsibility-by-design and present concrete examples on how sustainability concerns can be supported by technical and non-technical methods.
Dr. Ricardo Chavarriaga
Group Leader, Responsible AI Innovation Group
Centre for Artificial Intelligence
ZHAW School of Engineering
18:30 – 19:45: Panel Discussion
Who's responsible?
As AI continues to reshape industries, education, and society, urgent ethical questions arise:
Who is responsible for ensuring AI is used ethically?
Who holds accountability when AI makes harmful decisions?
Should ethical AI be enforced through regulation or industry self-governance?
You will hear sustainability experts from academia, industry and policy, who will explore these critical issues.
19:45 – 21:00: Apéro
To conclude the Sustainability Day 2025, you are invited to join us for a vegetarian and vegan Apéro.
This is the opportunity to continue conversations, share what your insights and connect with other participants and speakers.
Please specify any dietary restrictions in the registration form.
The Sustainability Day Team
- Paula de Arespacochaga Lara, MSc Circular Economy Management, SML (co-project lead)
- Jacob Christensen, Msc Banking and Finance, SML (co-project lead)
- Mumui Alija, Msc Banking and Finance, SML
- Mergim Avoli, Msc Banking and Finance, SML
- Chenyun Zhang, Msc Banking and Finance, SML
- Kateryna Kobtseva, Master in Circular Economy, SML
- Riziki Murhula, MSc Circular Economy Management, SML
- Carla Schwämmle, MSc Business Administration (Marketing), SML
- Elisa Van Bochove, MSc Circular Economy Management, SML
An interview with the project leaders!
Learn more about the Sustainability Day Team and their inspiration for this year’s “AI meets Sustainability” theme.
Date
Start date: 8 April 2025, 09:00
End date: 8 April 2025, 21:00
About Sustainability Day @ZHAW
According to a survey among ZHAW School of Management and Law (SML) students in 2019, more than one-third would welcome more extracurricular activities on topics related to sustainable development and responsible business. This result has led to the launch of the "Sustainability Day @SML" project, rebranded and expanded to the whole university as “Sustainability Day @ZHAW” in 2024 – an annual sustainability event dedicated to social responsibility and sustainable development. It is organised entirely by students with the support of SML PRME and ZHAW sustainable. It is aimed at students and employees of all ZHAW schools, and the general public. The Sustainability Day aims to raise awareness and sensitise participants about sustainability-specific topics, while promoting the dialogue in this field.
