CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Science for Policy Business Sustainability Innovation Communities Development Fairness Cooperation
Science sits
at the heart of
a solutions-oriented dialogue.
By providing an open platform for experts to interface with policy-makers, businesses and civil society leaders, we believe we can advance informed decision-making, highlight most pressing challenges and provide an evidence base for understanding which solutions really work and under what conditions.
WRF25 will welcome international researchers from all over the world to share insights from a multitude of fields and methodologies, enabling a rich and diverse scientific dialogue.
Has your abstract been accepted for presentation at WRF25?
You now have the opportunity to submit your full paper to the Global Sustainability journal, WRF special collection, published in collaboration with the World Resources Forum.
Submission deadline: 1 December 2025
Striving for a research with impact?
Participating in WRF25 offers researchers a unique opportunity to showcase their work on a global stage, influencing key policy debates and contributing to the development of actionable solutions for sustainable resource use. Beyond visibility, the conference facilitates networking with leading experts from diverse fields, fostering new collaborations and enriching research with cross-disciplinary insights. A chance to move research from theory to practice, directly contributing to policies and strategies that shape public governance and industries.
Move from theory to practice
Engage with researchers from various disciplines
Collaborate with leaders from policy, industry and civil society
Expand your impact beyond academia
SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS
WRF25 focuses on three “resource hotspots” – critical sectors with high resource processing and use and significant environmental, social, and economic impacts. Our goal is to gather scientific contributions that explore strategies and tools to improve outcomes across these hotspots. By examining how the six drivers for change can be applied in context, we aim to inform data-driven, evidence-based solutions. Researchers will dive into the role, potential and challenges of these drivers shaping a sustainable future within planetary boundaries.
Resource Hotspots
EXTRACTIVE SECTOR
- Large-scale mining
- Artisanal and small-scale mining
- Critical Raw Materials
- Conflict Minerals
- Deep-Sea Mining
BUILT ENVIRONMENT
- Buildings
- Infrastructure
- Cities
- Building Materials
- Buildings-Energy-Mobility Nexus
CONSUMER & INDUSTRIAL GOODS
- Textiles and Apparel
- Plastics and Packaging
- Electronics
- Healthcare
- Batteries and Energy Storage
Drivers for Change
MULTILATERAL GOVERNANCE
INNOVATION, DESIGN & DIGITALISATION
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
FINANCE & TRADE
INDICATORS, METHODS & STANDARDS
SUFFICIENCY
Extractive Sector
Enhance public and private governance for the responsible sourcing of minerals and metals.
The extractive sector is central to global resource supply chains but is often associated with environmental degradation, social conflict, and governance challenges. WRF25 aims to assess how the six drivers for change can improve the sustainability and transparency of resource extraction. From responsible sourcing of critical raw materials to deep-sea mining and artisanal and small-scale mining, discussions, scientific contributions will revolve around driving systemic change in the extractive industries.
Applying the six drivers for change:
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of multilateral governance and policy frameworks in supporting the transition to a more responsible and sustainable extractive sector and responsible sourcing practices, considering e.g.:
- Conflict minerals
- Critical raw materials
- Governance of sand
- Artisanal and small-scale mining
- Deep-sea mining
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of systemic circular economy perspectives in achieving a more responsible and sustainable extractive sector within planetary boundaries considering e.g.:
- Multi-resources extraction
- Rare, critical and strategic raw materials
- Waste prevention or minimisation (such as reprocessing of tailings)
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of innovations, in particular, in the field of digitalization, in supporting the transition to a more responsible and sustainable extractive sector, considering e.g.:
- improving traceability, efficiency and environmental monitoring of raw materials
- processing technologies, e.g. for tailings
- artisanal and small-scale mining
- precision mining
Exploring standard setting and practices contributing to improve sustainability and circularity in the extractive sector and defining metrics to measure its performance, considering e.g.:
- accountability and citizen inclusion
- assurance and verification
- benchmarks for minimum social and environmental standards
- ethical sourcing standards
- indicators for local community benefits from raw material extraction
- negative externalities in the Global South
- social and environmental life cycle thinking perspective of impacts
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of finance and trade in supporting the transition to a more responsible and sustainable extractive sector, considering e.g.:
- green financing of extractive activities
- greenwashing risks
- impacts of large energy transition investments in the Global North on the Global South
- due diligence approaches
- trade agreements for ethical sourcing
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of sufficiency strategies in reducing over-extraction and ensuring responsible and sustainable material use, considering e.g.:
- the inter-generational and geographical distribution of resources
- export bans to unprocessed raw materials extracted
Built Environment
Deliver resilient, fair and low-carbon buildings and infrastructure.
Buildings and infrastructure are not only among the largest consumers of resources globally but also major contributors to waste generation and greenhouse gas emissions. WRF25 focuses on how we can reimagine construction and urban planning to create resilient, low-carbon, and sustainable environments. Through the lens of the six drivers for change, this track will explore the future of cities, infrastructure and building systems, addressing socio-economic and environmental impacts.
Applying the six drivers for change:
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of multilateral governance in supporting the transition to a more resilient and sustainable built environment from a life cycle perspective, considering, amongst others:
- the Paris agreement
- the Sustainable Development Goals
- the UNEA recommendations
- smart cities initiatives
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of systemic circular economy perspectives in supporting the transition to a more resilient, resource efficient and sustainable built environment within planetary boundaries, considering e.g. :
- cradle-to-cradle design
- design for de- and reconstruction
- reuse of materials
- space as a finite resource and trade-offs between life-extension and new construction
Exploring the role of innovations and design, in particular in the field of digitalisation, in supporting the transition to efficient, inclusive, resilient, smart and sustainable cities, considering e.g.:
- digital twin cities
- material and digital product passports
- passive buildings
Exploring standard setting and practices supporting the transition to a more resilient and sustainable built environment considering e.g.:
- global sustainability standards for buildings and infrastructure
- green building and materials certification
- life-cycle based approaches (such as product environmental footprint), performance indicators and product declarations
- ESG reporting
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of finance and trade in supporting the transition to a more resilient and sustainable built environment considering e.g.:
- the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) for buildings and cities
- financial incentives and mechanisms for a low-carbon built environment
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of sufficiency strategies in promoting the transition to a more resilient and sustainable built environment, considering e.g.:
- the space, energy and other resources required for a good living
- sufficiency in urban planning
- reduction in growth of floor area in densely populated urban environments
Consumer & Industrial Goods
Shift to sustainable and fair production and consumption patterns.
Consumer and industrial goods are at the center of our linear economy, driven by throw-away products, polluting production practices, and unsustainable consumption patterns in parts of the world and specific population segments. WRF25 will assess how the six drivers for change can reshape production and consumption models towards sustainability and fairness. This includes strategies to avoid and reduce waste, minimise pollution, and promote sustainable lifestyles while addressing the social inequalities and environmental burdens tied to current global supply chains.
Applying the six drivers for change:
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of multilateral governance in promoting responsible and sustainable consumption and production considering e.g
- corporate sustainability reporting frameworks
- eco-labels
- Global Plastics Treaty
- transboundary movements of waste
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of systemic circular economy perspectives in promoting responsible and sustainable consumption and production (SCP) within planetary boundaries, considering e.g
- best circular practices to minimise resource consumption in fast consumer goods
- circular business models (including product-as-a-service models)
- sharing economy
- recycling of fast-growing streams such as batteries, electronics and plastics
- subsistence activities in inclusive recycling
- single-use vs. multi-use in healthcare products
- education on SCP and circular economy
Exploring the role of innovations and design, in particular in the field of digitalisation, in view of keeping our resources consumption within planetary boundaries and ensuring wellbeing by considering e.g.:
- transparent supply chains
- AI for supply chain management
- digital platforms for consumer goods exchange
- distributed ledger technologies like blockchain for consumer goods tracking
- sustainability in digital healthcare
- minimalism in product design
Exploring standard setting and practices contributing to improve sustainability and circularity in the extractive sector and defining metrics to measure its performance, considering e.g.:
- accountability and citizen inclusion
- assurance and verification
- benchmarks for minimum social and environmental standards
- ethical sourcing standards
- indicators for local community benefits from raw material extraction
- negative externalities in the Global South
- social and environmental life cycle thinking perspective of impacts
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of finance and trade in promoting responsible and sustainable consumption and production, considering e.g.:
- incentivising instruments and trade policies, e.g. for batteries, electronics and plastics
- sustainable green financing for large companies and SMEs
- implications of circular economy on Global North-South trade relations
- investments for green production
Exploring the role, challenges and opportunities of sufficiency strategies in promoting responsible and sustainable consumption and production, considering e.g.:
- sufficiency in textiles
- sufficiency in different contexts, e.g. Global North and Global South
- preventing over-production
Special Issue with
Global Sustainability Journal
An Open Access journal from Cambridge University Press
We are excited to announce a special opportunity for contributors to the WRF25 Scientific Sessions! Authors of accepted abstracts will have the option to submit a full paper for peer-review and potential publication in Global Sustainability, a globally renowned open-access journal by Cambridge University Press.
This collaboration provides a unique avenue to increase the impact and visibility of your research by engaging with a global academic community focused on sustainability challenges and solutions.
Further details on submission guidelines and timelines will be provided soon.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
We seek scientific contributions that focus on applying one or more of the “Drivers for Change” to the three resource hotspots defined: Extractive Sector, Built Environment, and Consumer & Industrial Goods. Submissions will be reviewed based on their relevance to the intersection of the drivers for change and the resource hotspots. We are particularly interested in interdisciplinary approaches; research that provides actionable strategies for governments, industry or civil society; and, contributions that utilise innovative methods to assess impact and measure progress.
Guidelines
CONTRIBUTIONS
- Address one or more of the three sectors
- Apply one or more of the "Drivers for Change"
- Can be submitted for either oral or poster presentation
- Should present original results or updates from previous presentations and/or publications
- Abstracts should include context, research question(s) and/or goals, approach, results, conclusion and up to three bibliographical references
- Written in English and max. 400 words (excluding references)
PROCEDURE
-
Read the Call for Abstracts and assess relevance of your work for the "
"Resource Hotspots" and "Drivers for Change" - Submit your abstract online in the dedicated abstract management portal
- The abstract undergoes a double peer-review process by the WRF’25 Scientific Committee
- Accepted oral and poster presentations can either be presented in-person in Geneva or online
- Both, for in-person and online presentations, registration to the conference is required
Timeline
14 January 2025
submission deadline
April 2025
Notification of Acceptance
31 May 2025
Registration Deadline
May-Oct 2025
Submission full journal paper (optional)
2-5 Sept 2025
Scientific Presentations
FAQ
Your research is relevant if it addresses one or more of the “Drivers for Change” (e..g circular economy, innovation, finance and trade) applied to one of the three “resource hotspots”. It’s important that your research demonstrates how these drivers impact sustainability and/or resource governance and management within these sectors. Contributions with a clear real-world application are especially welcome.
The “Drivers for Change” are thematic research areas identified as critical to advancing sustainable resource governance and management. These include:
- Multilateral Governance
- Innovation, Design and Digital Technologies
- Circular Economy
- Finance and Trade
- Indicators, Methods and Standards
- Sufficiency
To apply them, your research should focus on how one or more of these drivers can influence your sector of study. For example, if you are researching construction materials (Built Environment), you might explore how circular economy principles (e.g. recycling and reuse of materials) can reduce environmental impact.
Choose the driver(s) that your research best addresses. For example:
- If your research focuses on developing new methods for measuring sustainability, then “Indicators, Methods, and Standards” would be your key driver.
- If you’re working on innovations in product design, “Innovation, Design, and Digitalisation” would be the most relevant driver.
You may select more than one driver if your research has a multi-faceted approach. Clearly explain the connection between your research and each driver in your abstract.
Yes! Interdisciplinary approaches that span multiple sectors and thematic areas are encouraged. If your research applies to more than one sector, please clearly explain how your work impacts each relevant sector and how the Drivers for Change intersect in these areas.
There is no fee associated with submitting an abstract. However, in case of acceptance, submitters will have to register for the conference in order to present their abstracts, either in-person or online. The participation fee for the in-person conference and the online conference differ and give you access to the full programme.
We want to make sure that everybody has the possibility to participate in the conference, and we are aware that securing funding is sometimes difficult. For this reason, we offer a reduced fee for participants from low- and middle-income countries, and students. Furthermore, participants have the possibility to apply for a sponsorship, which – if awarded – will cover the full participation fee. In case of in-person attendance in Geneva, however, travel and accommodation costs will not be covered.
We welcome scientific abstracts from a very diverse audience, including academics, senior and junior researchers, students, professionals and practitioners. While submissions must be grounded in scientific methods and present a strong evidence base, we encourage different perspectives that bring new insights and practical solutions to the challenges within the conference’s resource hotspots. Whether you are from academia, industry, or civil society, as long as your research aligns with our Hotspots and Drivers for Change, and is based on rigorous analysis, your contribution is valuable to WRF25.
Get In Touch
Are you interested in submitting an abstract or establishing a scientific collaboration with us?
Drop us a line and let's get the conversation going!
