17th International Sustainability Transitions Conference (IST)

The 17th International Sustainability Transitions Conference (IST) took place at ETH Zurich from 31 August to 2 September 2026. The annual flagship event of the Sustainability Transitions Research Network (STRN) was hosted and co-organized by the transitions and innovations research group Cirus at Eawag and the Group for Sustainability and Technology ETH Zurich. Under the theme “Hope – in challenging times”, the conference explored how individual and collective work can safeguard and promote environmental sustainability and social justice in times of crisis and conflict.

Charlotte Lobensteiner attended the conference and presented her research, “Tradition meets innovation: Valuation of timber construction in the Allgäu region”. She also participated in the workshop “Regions in Transition – How to Mobilize Multi-Scalar Networks for Sustainable Development?”, which took place after the conference on 3 September. The workshop was organized by the STRN thematic group Geography of Sustainability Transitions (GeoST) and the Swiss Association for Spatial Planning and Regional Policy (ROREP).