Keynote Address
Every year we present a well-known personality from science, society, economy, politics or sports as speaker at the SEPAWA CONGRESS. Be it current topics or perennial favorites, it will certainly spark your interest.
The Green Revolution:
Transforming Industries for a Sustainable Tomorrow
Thursday, 16 October 2025 from 13:15 – 14:30 hrs in the Auditorium
This theme by Anabel Ternes focuses on the essential shifts in leadership and self-leadership required for a successful sustainability transformation. True change begins with a mindset and heartset shift—leaders must cultivate resilience, adaptability, and a deep-rooted commitment to sustainability. The keynote explores how Twin Transformation, the intersection of digitalization and sustainability, creates new opportunities for businesses and individuals to lead with purpose. Anabel Ternes highlights the importance of emotional intelligence, conscious decision-making, and future-driven strategies that foster long-term success. With inspiring real-world examples, she equips leaders with the tools to drive systemic change and empower their teams. This keynote is a powerful call to action for those ready to lead with vision, courage, and a commitment to shaping a sustainable, innovative future.

Anabel Ternès
CEO of Sustain Plus GmbH, CEO of the Berlin-based SRH Institute for Sustainability Management & Innovation, Professor of Communication Management and International Business, President of the Club of Budapest Germany, Futurologist, Journalist, Radio and TV Host.
Prof. Dr. Anabel Ternès (von Preußen - Ternès von Hattburg) is recognized as one of the leading experts on sustainability, innovation, and leadership. HypoVereinsbank describes her as “one of Germany’s outstanding managers and entrepreneurs,” while Forbes aptly refers to her as “Superwoman.”
Anabel is a futurologist, keynote speaker, author, and founder of sustainable startups. She serves as the CEO of Sustain Plus, Managing Director of the Berlin SRH Institute for Innovation and Sustainability Management, and Professor of Communication Management, succeeding Dieter Kronzucker, the founder of the ZDF-heute journal.
As a member, advisor, and founder of various think tanks and do tanks, Anabel draws on her extensive expertise in trend scouting, monitoring, and management, acquired under renowned figures such as Li Edelkoort and Mieke de Bock. She brings significant international leadership experience from senior management positions at companies like Samsonite, Triumph, and Fielmann.
Her roles also include memberships and advisory positions in numerous committees and organizations:
- Advisor to Plant-for-the-Planet,
- President of the Club of Budapest Germany and the International Embassy for Economic Affairs,
- Board member of the Friends of Social Business, an initiative by Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus,
- Senator in the German Economic Senate,
- Supervisory board member of PAN,
- Member of UN Women and the UN Ocean Decade Germany,
- Co-founder of World Cleanup Day and member of the Club of Rome.
Anabel is also an independent journalist for magazines, the editor of three publications, and a radio and TV host. Her environmental activism began at the age of seven, when she launched her first environmental initiative after witnessing plastic pollution on the beaches of Norddeich-Mole. Since then, she has been tirelessly advocating for human rights and environmental protection through various projects and organizations.
Her entrepreneurial achievements and volunteer work have earned her numerous awards, including recognition as a futurologist, ambassador for the “FRAUEN UNTERNEHMEN” initiative by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Google Impact Challenge Award, and designation as a LinkedIn Top Voice for Sustainability.
Topics & personalities
Every year, SEPAWA invites a renowned personality from the fields of science, society, business, politics or sports are invited to give a keynote lecture. In recent years, these were:
- 2024 Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Clemens Fuest from the IFO Institute e.V. used the topic “Europe 2024/2025: Between Energy Crisis and Geopolitical Challenges” as an opportunity to show politicians, scientists and each of us how these challenges can be met.
- Dr. Theo Waigel spoke in 2023 on the topic “Politics and Economy in Unsteady Times”. Although he referred to the problems in the world, he had a lot of material that gives courage if everyone sees and uses their opportunities.
- At the first post-COVID live congress in 2022, Jens Bode, as Innologe, inspired the audience with the topic: “The I-Point. With Your Own Talent, (Trend)Inspiration & Desire to Innovate.”
- 2021, Prof. Dr. Dr. Manfred Spitzer, neuroscientist and psychiatrist, inspired us with a lecture about the brain, the computer and mental capacity and what we have learned in the last 20 years.
- 2020, Prof. Dr. Dirk Notz, climate researcher, held a lecture titled “The Big Melt.” In his presentation, he shed light on global climate change. He linked his own experiences from his numerous expeditions with the scientific background of global climate change.
- In 2019 Dr. Richard David Precht, author and publicist, talked about the topic “digital revolution and the future of how we work.”
- 2018, Antonia Rados, foreign correspondent and journalist, held a lecture with the title: “Turmoil in the Middle East – Consequences for Europe.”
- In 2017, Dr. Ulf Merbold took the delegates on a space flight with a critical view onto our blue planet Earth. Anyone who has ever had the privilege to see its beauty from space should make it their mission to preserve it.
- 2016 Dr. Gregor Gysi gave an inspiring lecture on global consumption, its development and reduction and changes.
- In the previous year, extreme mountaineer Thomas Huber was invited to talk about the “analogy between mountain and profession”.