Enterprise Modeling for Sustainable and Circular Construction
Friday, 01.12.2023, 11:00-12:30

This year, the overarching theme of the conference is Enterprise Modeling in the Circular Economy. This theme reflects the importance of enterprise modeling methods, techniques and tools to enable enterprises to move to more circular business and operating models. In line with this overarching theme, this year’s panel discussion will focus on the potential role of, and challenges for, enterprise modeling for sustainable and circular construction. 

The continuing growth of populations, and ongoing urbanization, put an increasing pressure on the global consumption of resources in general, and energy in particular. This makes it important for enterprises operating in the construction sector to work towards improved sustainability, including a drive towards more circularity. From an enterprise modeling perspective, this results in the question of how enterprise modeling can aid these enterprises, as well as what further challenges may emerge from this towards future research.

In their respective keynotes, the two keynote speakers already elaborated on some of these points. We are happy to have our two esteemed keynote speakers, Anna-Vera Deinhammer and Iva Kovacic. They will be complemented by two further experts in the field: Thomas Kasper, and Daniela Ortiz Avram.

The panel will be chaired by Henderik A. Proper.

Dr. Anna-Vera Deinhammer is a Vienna based Strategist, Lobbyist, and Integral Engineering Scientist. She holds a diploma in architecture and subsequently completed a doctorate in integral engineering in Vienna and Sydney in the field of holistic quality assessment of buildings. All her activities centre the creation of a healthy and liveable built environment. She follows the Quadruple Helix Approach which combines the perspectives of business, science, civil society, and politics. Her work focuses on the circular economy in construction, integral construction research and engineering science, which she is currently contributing as Director for Circular Cities & Regions in the Circular Economy Forum Austria since July 2022. In September 2023, she became elected Vice President of the Association. Since October 2022, she represents the Austrian Sustainable Building Council ÖGNI at the World Green Building Council and the Climate Positive Europe Alliance CPEA in Brussels. In addition, she intensifies the cooperation with Austrian municipalities and is involved in standards development in the “sustainability of buildings” committee of the Austrian Standards Institute ASI. Since March 2023, she is member of the Global Advisory Council under the auspices ALL Ladies League, regarding SDG Goal 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities for the G100, Group of 100 Global Women Leaders, (G100: Group of 100 Global Women Leaders). Since June 2023, she holds the Endowed Chair for Sustainable Real Estate Development at the University of Applied Scienes for Management and Communication FHWien der WKW. It is the first Endowed Chair, which is 100% financed by the real estate industry.

Dipl.-Ing. Mag. Thomas Kasper has worked in the PORR Group since completing his studies in cultural engineering and water management. After completing his master builder examination, he started studying law (JKU), which he completed with a focus on environmental law.

In addition to his activities in the treatment of mineral waste and the processing of recycled building materials at PORR Umwelttechnik, he was involved in the Austrian Building Materials Recycling Association, of which he has been president since 2016. This goes hand in hand with the function as Vice President of the European Association for Recycling (EQAR) as well as activities in standardization for aggregates at national (ASI) and European (CEN) levels.

As a court expert for, among other things, waste management, remediation of soil damage as well as dismantling and recycling of building materials, he can easily combine his technical expertise with legal knowledge.

Finally, as PORR Group’s environmental officer, he also heads the waste management and building materials recycling activities within the group.

Iva Kovacic is Professor for Integrated Planning and Head of Institute for Building and Industrial Construction, at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, TU Wien, She is also Principal Investigator and Member of GCD: Center for Geometry and Computational Design, TU Wien and is lecturer at Jönkoping University, University of Zagreb and Donau University Krems. Iva’s research focus is Building Information Modelling and Computational Design, as well as Digital Platforms for Circular AEC with Life cycle Assessment and Material Passports. Together with her group, she is leading and participating in numerous national and international funded research projects, such as BIMmaterial, BIMstocks, CircularTwin, Wohnen 4.0, and in SFB Advanced Digital Design. Iva is architect by training with practical design experience, and a member of Bavaria Chamber of Architects. She is also Member of ÖGNI – Austrian Sustainable Building Council and ÖGNI Auditor, Member of ASCE and ASCE Computing Division ExCOM, Committee member of eg-ice  (European Group for Intelligent Computing ); Member of SDEWES (Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems) and EPOS (Engineering Project Organisation Society). Iva is a member and spokesperson of professors in the TU Wien Senate. Born on 15th of Feb 1973 in Zagreb, Croatia.

Clemens Löffler is currently working as senior researcher at the Institute for Digital Transformation and Strategy at the University of Applied Sciences for Management & Communication in Vienna. He received his doctoral degree from the Vienna University of Technology. In October 2015, he received his “Habilitation” from the University of Vienna.

Using a theory-based research approach, he successfully contributes to research on accounting and its neighboring disciplines, with a specific focus on incentives, performance measurement and coordination. In this context, he particularly analyzes the influence of sustainability requirements and artificial intelligence on the organizational structures of supply chains. His research success is evident from publications in top tier journals such as Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, International Journal of Accounting, Management Accounting Research, and Journal of Business Economics. His positions at institutes with diverse emphases such as management control, corporate governance, digital transformation, corporate strategy, and finance entail the acquisition of experience in a broad spectrum of business administration.