Edgar Hertwich
NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Trondheim, Norway
Member ID 0005
Member since Feb 10, 2001
Status Active
Awards
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About

International Chair and Professor of Industrial Ecology, NTNU

Details

I served as president of ISIE in 2017-2018. During my presidency, the society decided to become an independent organization. With the help of the Council, Ester van der Voet and Paul Hoekman, I set up the new organization in the Netherlands and helped develop a new set of by-laws. We reformed the operations of the society, resulting in substantial cost savings and putting the society on a more secure footing.
I am a member of the International Resource Panel where I led the development of three reports on the Environmental Impacts of Products and Materials, the Environmental Benefits and Trade-offs of Low-Carbon Electricity, and Resource Efficiency and Climate Change. I have contributed to the IPCC 5th assessment report as a lead author of the energy systems chapter and the methods annex, as well as a contributor to the Technical Summary and the Summary for Policy Makers.
I am a member of the editorial board of Environmental Science & Technology, Journal of Industrial Ecology, and the Journal of Economic Structure.

I was born in Salzburg, Austria. I have an engineering degree from the HTL Braunau, an Bachelor in physics (Magna Cum Laude) from Princeton University, an MSc and PhD in energy & resources from the University of California, Berkeley, and an honorary Master degree from Yale University.

From 2015 to 2019, I was a professor of industrial sustainability at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and director of the Center for Industrial Ecology.
From 2003 to 2015, I have directed the Industrial Ecology Programme and worked as professor in Energy and Process Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway. Before that, I was a research scholar at the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria

Research Interests

My research interests cover climate change mitigation, material efficiency energy and resource use, sustainable consumption and production, trade and environment, and scenario analysis. I am interested in understanding how activities in our society produce environmental pressures, the dynamics in our development that affect these driving forces and their resulting environmental pressures, and alternative courses of action that can reduce these pressures. What is the connection between human activities on the one hand and emissions and resource use on the other hand? What are the implications of our current development path? What do we need to change, both individually and as society, to achieve a more sustainable development?

Website contributions from this member

01 Feb 2024 PhD course - Advances in Life Cycle Modelling
27 Jan 2024 EU Climate Advisors recommend Resource Efficiency and Demand Reduction
16 Oct 2023 International Resource Panel - Call for Experts
28 Jul 2023 The Legacy Environmental Footprints of Capital
02 Jul 2023 NTNU's Outstanding Research Award to Edgar Hertwich
02 Jul 2023 PhD student - Modelling capital dynamics for resource efficiency
07 Jun 2023 PhD student - Sustainability in the building and construction sector
11 Jan 2023 IE Day Video: Cutting edge applications of industrial ecology in the built environment
26 Oct 2022 Life-Cycle Information for Banks and Investors
05 Apr 2022 Green growth now !
28 Mar 2022 Carbon footprint study on aging garners widespread interest
22 Jan 2021 ISIE webinar - Modeling Material Efficiency Strategies for a Low Carbon Future - 18 Feb
22 Jan 2021 ISIE Webinar - Policy Perspectives on Material Efficiency Strategies for a Low Carbon Future
20 Jan 2021 EVs have lower emissions and are cheaper to own and operate than alternatives - The New York Times
20 Jan 2021 International Resource Panel webinar: 2 Feb 2021
13 Aug 2019 Winner of The 2019 Society Prize, awarded for outstanding contributions to the field of industrial ecology – Professor Yi Qian and Professor Marian Chertow
13 Aug 2019 Winner of the 2019 Laudise Medal, awarded for outstanding achievements in industrial ecology by a researcher under the age of 36, - Francesca Verones
22 Jan 2019 ISIE moves from Yale to Leiden
11 Jan 2019 ISIE Prizes - Call for Nominations
20 Dec 2018 Call for Conference Proposals - ISIE 2021
07 Dec 2018 Democracy Now!
30 Nov 2018 JIE - Open Access?
27 Nov 2018 Volunteers for conference planning committee
01 Nov 2018 Xuemei Bai wins Volvo Environment Prize
19 Oct 2018 ISIE biannual conference, 7-11 July 2019
03 Oct 2018 ISIE - transition to an independent society
12 Sep 2018 Award Ceremony honors Marina Fischer-Kowalski
08 Sep 2018 ISIE Administration: Thank you Judy! Welcome Lizelle.
23 Feb 2018 An Independent ISIE
31 Oct 2017 President’s corner
01 Sep 2017 Seeking ISIE Blog Editor
01 Sep 2017 Seeking ISIE Web Strategist