Dr. YANG Xinyan is a Senior Researcher and Deputy Chief Engineer of the Institute of Carbon Neutrality at the China Academy of Building Research (CABR). Her research centers on nearly zero-energy and zero-carbon buildings, with a particular emphasis on the optimal allocation of energy storage and demand response in community-scale systems. She served as Principal Investigator of the National Key R&D Program project “Optimized Allocation and Demand Response of Energy Storage Technologies in Nearly Zero-Energy Communities” and has participated as a core team member in four additional national and ministerial research projects on nearly zero-energy and zero-carbon building technologies. She contributed to China’s first leading national standard for building energy efficiency, Technical Standard for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (GB/T 51350-2019), the world’s first technical standard of its kind. She has published nearly 50 papers (40 SCI-indexed) and co-authored six books.

Chief Architect of Atelier Li Yin, Chief Representative (China & Asia-Pacific) of ICI (International Climate Innovation), Switzerland, Local Lead Expert for the Sino-Swiss Zero-Emission-Building Project (2022-2025) and a Registered Architect with the Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects (SIA).

In his professional practice, he focuses on the profound integration of architectural design with sustainability consulting. His expertise spans building renovation, urban renewal, low-carbon urban planning, and interior design. Representing ICI in China and the Asia-Pacific region, he facilitates international cooperation, academic initiatives, professional training, and consulting services for low-carbon sustainable architecture and district planning. He has led and completed numerous international architectural competitions in Shenzhen and Switzerland and is frequently invited as a guest lecturer to participate in teaching practices at various universities in China.

René Sigg has been with intep since 1988 and served as CEO from 1997 to 2024, playing a central role in developing the company into an internationally active consulting and research firm for sustainable development. He holds an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and completed postgraduate studies in Environmental Sciences at the University of Zurich. His executive education includes strategy, sustainability and artificial intelligence in management at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, as well as a CAS in Chinese Business Management at the University of Zurich. René has extensive consulting experience across Europe, North America and Asia, advising private and public organizations on sustainable management, strategy and transformation. He has also contributed to the development of models, norms and standards in sustainability, processes and digitalization.

Dr. Martin Jakob is an energy economist and physicist serving as an Executive Partner at TEP Energy GmbH, a company founded as an ETH Zurich spin-off. With over 25 years of experience in technical, economic, and policy frameworks, he specializes in decarbonizing the built environment. A pioneer in Building Stock Modelling (BSM), Dr. Jakob and his team develop regional and national bottom-up simulation models. Based on building stock and technology data, dynamic tools are created for scenario analysis and spatial energy planning, taking investor decisions into account. To move beyond purely operational criteria, he advances Whole Life Carbon (WLC) methodologies. A central aspect of his activities is evaluating embodied emissions and material flows. By mapping Scope 3 emissions and the material intensity of building technologies, his tools allow cities, real estate companies, and developers to track resource flows and minimize carbon investments.

Mija FROSSARD is an Applied R&D Researcher at the Institute of Energies, HEIG-VD (HES-SO), Member of the Scientific Committee for the Geneva State Building Carbon Regulation, Co-Responsible of the continuing education program “CAS in Life Cycle Assessment in Construction” (HES-SO), and holding a PhD from Mines Paris – PSL on the eco-design of robust zero-energy buildings under uncertainty. He measures the whole life carbon of buildings through life cycle assessment (LCA) and has helped design the calculation method and practitioner guide of Geneva State’s Building Carbon Regulation. His research began with uncertainty in a building’s future; he now addresses uncertainty in the design process and in the data available in practice, so decarbonation strategies can be tracked throughout a project and decisions remain reliable. His expertise spans embodied carbon, material reuse and circularity, EPDs for construction products, and energy systems.

Xiaojin Zhang, Director of Départ de Sentier, a Swiss nonprofit organization. The organization develops open-source data and model platforms for life cycle assessment (LCA), carries out innovation and research projects, and has organized conferences and trainings for the community of the Brightway ecosystem in the field of quantitative sustainability assessment. Xiaojin has more than 15 years of experience in life cycle assessment, carbon accounting, energy systems modeling, sustainable buildings and urban planning, and techno-economic analysis, with a particular strength in translating complex climate and energy challenges into actionable strategies. Xiaojin has led and contributed to numerous interdisciplinary research and public-sector projects, advising companies, industries, and government agencies on data-driven decarbonization strategies. Xiaojin holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Sichuan University, a master’s degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and a PhD from ETH Zurich, where her doctoral research focused on the life cycle assessment of the Swiss building stock.

Dr. Yiqiu Liu is an architect and urban researcher working on AI infrastructure and its territorial impacts. At ETH Zurich and TU Munich, she initiated and co-leads The Production of Cloud, a research, teaching and policy programme on the spatial and environmental consequences of data centres in China, Europe and the United States, supported by the Swiss Network for International Studies. She holds a doctorate from ETH Zurich (2023, nominated for the ETH Medal) and a BA and MA in architecture from Southeast University, Nanjing. In practice, she advises public and private stakeholders on spatial development between China and Europe. Her award-winning work includes Drawer Courtyard, built in the historical heart of Beijing, and the Gunan Street conservation project, honoured with an Award of Distinction at the 2024 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. She is an associated researcher at the ETH AI Center and a selected fellow of the European Talent Academy 2026.