Born 31.10.1946 in Zürich, Switzerland. Educated in Switzerland, where he earned a doctoral degree in natural sciences from ETH Zurich, and in the United States as a postdoctoral fellow in Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, Dr. Brunner held the Chair of Waste Management at the Vienna University of Technology. His expertise spans waste and resource management, with a particular focus on the "Metabolism of the Anthroposphere." His research advances methods for analyzing, evaluating, and guiding material flows through urban systems, such as material flow analysis MFA.

Dr. Brunner's additional activities include developing goal oriented waste management strategies, creating assessment methods for waste management systems, advancing techniques for waste analysis and treatment, and exploring long term solutions for final storage and other ultimate sinks.

Publications

>600 publications, with >200 peer reviewed articles in journals such as Science, Environmental Science and Technology, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Waste Management & Research, Water Research, and others. Google Scholar "Paul H. Brunner": >14000 citations, H index 46.

Most Important Scientific Publications:

Keynote on:

Shaping the Future of Circular Economy Research

Shabbir H. Gheewala is a professor at the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), Thailand where he teaches Life Cycle Assessment and has led the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment Lab for almost 25 years. His research focuses on sustainability assessment of energy systems; sustainability indicators; circular economy; and certification issues in biofuels and the agro-industry.

In 2025, he was invited to join the International Resource Panel. He has been ranked as one of the world's top 1000 most influential climate scientists (Reuter's Hot List 2021) and the world's top 1% of the most-cited researchers in environmental sciences during 2020-2025. He was awarded the "Mahidol Science Environment & Sustainability Award" in 2022. With over 400 papers in peer reviewed journals and a Scopus h-index of 61.

Keynote on:

Reframing Circularity and Net-Zero through the Lens of Life Cycle Thinking

Dr. Yuichi Moriguchi is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Tokyo, an Emeritus Researcher, a Visiting Researcher, and the previous Vice President of National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) in Japan served from April 2019 to March 2025. He is a Council Member of Science Council of Japan (SCJ), and the Chair of Committee on Environmental Studies of the SCJ.

He graduated from the Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering at Kyoto University. He holds Ph.D. in Engineering from Kyoto University. He joined the NIES in 1982. His research field covers Industrial Ecology, Environmental Systems Analysis and Post-disaster Environmental Management.

Keynote on:

Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Thinking towards Carbon Neutral, Circular, and Regenerative Economy

Dr. Wijarn Simachaya is the current President of the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), Secretary-General of the Thailand Business Council for Sustainable Development (TBCSD), President of PPP Plastics Association, and President of the Thai Sustainable Consumption and Production Network (Thai SCP Network).

He currently serves as an environmental expert on several national committees, including the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model Committee, the Coastal and Marine Resources Administration Committee, the Circular Economy Sub-Committee, and the National Water Resources Committee.

In 2020, he was honored as "Thailand Climate Leader 2019" by Climate Scorecard. He has authored more than 50 technical papers on environmental management, sustainability, and pollution control.

Dr. Simachaya holds two Bachelor's degrees—in Chemical Education and Law—and a Master's degree in Environmental Science. He earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Guelph, Canada.

Keynote on:

Circular Economy of Plastic Waste to Support Net Zero Target in Thailand

Dr. Sandhya Babel is a full professor at the School of Biochemical Engineering and Technology, Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University, Thailand. Her main research interests include microplastics pollution and uptake by biota, microbial fuel cells, adsorption, photocatalysis, waste valorization, waste to energy, phytoremediation, LCA and membrane technology.

She has published over 180 scholarly articles in reputed international journals. Her h-index is 40 with a total citation of over 11,000 based on Scopus database as of January 2026. She has been listed in the top 2% scientists in the world by Stanford University and Elsevier BV for 5 consecutive years. Recently, Dr Babel was awarded as Distinguished Professor (2024) and also as an outstanding researcher in Science and Technology (2025) by Thammasat University.

Keynote on:

Waste Biomass Valorization to Produce Biodegradable Films for Sustainable Packaging Applications

Sang-Hyoun Kim is a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a Lee Youn Jae Fellow at Yonsei University, Korea. He has been served as a vice president of Korean Society of Waste Management since 2024. He received his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

His research interests lie in waste-energy-resources nexus. Specifically, his research focuses on anaerobic digestion and biohydrogen production. He was named as a highly cited researcher (HCR) in 2024 by Clarivate and the scientist of the month in July 2025 by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Korea.

Keynote on:

Status of Biogas Technology and Policy in Korea

Keynote on:

Energy from Waste Technologies with Carbon Capture Integration

Professor Priyan Mendis serves as Deputy Director in the ARC Training Centre for Timber Resilience and Engineered Mass Systems (TREMS) Hub and holds a professorial position at The University of Melbourne, Australia. His research focuses on advancing sustainable construction practices through innovative prefabrication techniques and alternative building materials.

Prefabricated construction offers sustainable, circular solutions for the built environment by enabling efficient resource reuse and facilitating dismantling and reassembly at the end of a structure's service life. This approach significantly reduces construction time, leading to lower on-site carbon emissions and overall cost savings.

Keynote on:

Advancing Sustainability through Innovations in Prefabricated Construction

Keynote on:

From Waste Management to Circular Economy: Japan's Policy Journey, Lessons Learned, and Pathways for Future Collaboration

Dr. C. Visvanathan, Global Talent Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Mahidol University (Bangkok), is a globally recognized expert in plastic waste management with over three decades of experience developing innovative recycling methodologies and sustainable disposal techniques. With a Ph.D. from the Institute of National Polytechnique in France, his pioneering research spans membrane technologies, sustainable consumption, and circular economy approaches for plastic waste streams—resulting in more than 170 international journal publications. Consistently ranked among Stanford University's top 2% of global scientists (2020-2025).

Keynote on:

Advancing Circular Economy Pathways for Construction Waste Management in ASEAN: Challenges, Innovations, and Policy Directions