UAA SYMPOSIUM 2022

Net-zero Society

26-27th March 2022

Is it really possible to create a Net-zero society?


The upcoming Symposium 2022 will be a full day of workshops, speeches, and fantastic discussions all targeted with the aim of answering the question “Is it really possible to create a Net-zero society?


All around the world, economic policies, political statements, big corporations, and more, claim to be going in the direction of having net-zero emissions. But, is the current society, especially the society of the rich countries, ready for what that means? Our current lifestyle is the best it has been since the beginning of humanity: easy access to clean water, thousands of diseases eradicated, meat and fish consumption at 3 steps from our doorstep, delivery of products from all around the world, and more. All of this lifestyle is a huge part of the emissions we emit, so what does Net-zero emissions mean for us, and can we handle it?


Join us on March 26th 2022, in Barcelona, to be part of this incredible experience.

UAA General Assembly 2022

UAA Symposium 2022

Symposium packages

Complete package

Full access to in-person symposium talks and workshops


Saturday Celebration Dinner


Sunday Social programme

120 €

Complete package without social programme

Full access to in-person symposium talks and workshops


Saturday Celebration Dinner

80 €

Complete package without dinner

Full access to in-person symposium talks and workshops


Sunday Social programme

80 €

Conference only

Full access to in-person symposium talks and workshops


No access to Saturday dinner or Sunday social programme

50 €

Celebratory dinner only

If you are in Barcelona and cannot join the event on Saturday, but want to join the celebration dinner

40 €

Sunday social programme only

If you are in Barcelona and would like to get involved on Sunday, join us for a Barcelona city tour, special activities and lunch

40 €

UAA General Assemly Meeting

For all UAA Alumni who would like to be part of the decision making for the UNITECH Alumni Association.

There are several different ways in which you can get involved with the UAA Symposium, you can join us for the whole event or specific parts of it. The various packages are outlined below.

For detailed information on each Symposium package, please view the packages document.

Symposium speakers

After an impressive journey with ABB where he held (Senior) Vice President roles in Business, Marketing & Sales, Peter Rupp continued his career at Hilti, where he has spent the last 11+ years heading various Business Units. He recently took up a new challenge as Head of Sustainability with the aim to transform Hilti into a net-zero corporation. He will speak about Hilti's journey towards this ambitious goal and highlight the big opportunities and many challenges on the road from a corporate perspective.

Opportunities & challenges to achieve net-zero: A corporate perspective
Peter Rupp
Head of sustainability, Hilti
The net-zero energy transition
Eze Lisak
Transformation director, National Grid Ventures at National Grid plc

Eze Lisak is a senior leader who drives and delivers transformational changes, business improvements and IT solutions in the energy industry. His experience in energy spans across System Operations, Energy Marketing and Trading, Upstream Gas, LNG, Gas Storage, Nuclear, and Power Renewables. Eze was born in Argentina and has lived in Spain, Sweden, Germany and United Kingdom. He joined the UNITECH International Programme in 2007-08, holds a Masters Engineering degree in Telecommunications from the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) and a Master of Science in Management and Economics of Innovation from Chalmers University of Technology.

The road to net-zero: we must do it right! using science, not dogma.
Dr Erwan Saouter
President, Net-Zero Impact

Dr. Erwan Saouter has over 30 years of professional experience, with the World Business Council of Sustainable Development (WBCSD) as Director of Climate and Energy , with the European Commission and the Institute for Environment and Sustainable Development (JRC), within the regulatory and safety affairs of Procter & Gamble , with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), but also as founder and managing director of 3 companies: Science & Environment , Biocomp Nepal and now Net-Zero Impact. Erwan is an expert in sustainable development, climate & energy, decarbonization, nature-based solutions, stakeholder dialogues, life cycle assessment, science communication, chemical safety, chemical footprint. He holds a PhD in environmental science (eco-toxicology), Master II in Food and Nutrition, Master I in Ecology and Environmental protection, engineer in agricultural science and he has published more than 60 scientific articles in scientific magazines and books.

Innovating for a sustainable future. How IT moves the world to Net Zero
Vladislav Marinov
Programme Director of Sustainability, NTT

Vladislav has been in the IT industry for 15 years taking different roles in services, sales and pre-sales before career switch to Sustainability and ESG and founded the newly established NTT Ltd. Sustainability office.
Inspired by the power of innovation, data analytics and behavioural science combined with the potential of large scale organisational change to create positive impact on our people, communities and planet. Excited about the opportunities lying ahead of the Information and Communication Technology industry to accelerate and scale the positive impact of innovative solutions on issues such as climate change, circularity and regeneration of ecosystems. The ICT sector must step up to these challenges and take a leading role now in resolving them for the long term. He is currently driving the global execution and reporting of NTT Ltd. Sustainability Ambition – a vision of bold commitments, urgent priorities and strategies for a better us in the near future and beyond.

Workshop: Net-zero Innovation Accelerator
Cisca Devereux (she/her)
Innovation Consultant (Environment & Climate), Bax & Company

Cisca Devereux is an innovation consultant at Bax & Company Barcelona, focused on ecosystem restoration, Nature-Based Solutions, biodiversity and renaturing cities. Cisca studied Civil & Environmental Engineering at Trinity College Dublin. She is a project manager of EU-funded project Carbon Connects, author of the guide "Peatlands across Europe: Innovation & Inspiration" and led the COP26 event "Dialogues towards a European Peatland Initiative" working with national governments, leading organisations and the UN Environment Programme. Cisca believes in prioritising nature and our climate to ensure a liveable future for all living beings around the world.

Workshop: Build your own net-zero society
Abdelgafar Ismail
Supply Chain Expert at Infineon Technologies

Abdelgafar is a supply chain expert at Infineon, he studied environmental engineering at Politecnico di Milano and is UNITECH alumni 2016/17. Through volunteering projects and experiences, Abdelgafar has always been greatly interested in Climate Change and what individuals can do to fight it. Currently, he’s tackling these aspects through his job in Infineon.