SDEWES Centre (The International Centre for Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems), is a non-governmental scientific organization based at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Mission

SDEWES Centre is dedicated to the improvement and dissemination of knowledge on methods, policies and technologies for increasing the sustainability of development by de-coupling growth from natural resources and replacing them with

knowledge-based economy The knowledge economy, or knowledge-based economy, is an economic system in which the production of goods and services is based principally on Knowledge intensive services, knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to advancement in Technol ...

, taking into account its economic, environmental and social pillars. One of the main issues of the coming decades is to improve efficiencies by integrating various life supporting systems, using

waste Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor Value (economics), economic value. A wast ...

from one, as resource in other, and in exact moment when it is beneficial to all, integrating

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

, heating,

cooling Cooling is removal of heat, usually resulting in a lower temperature and/or Phase transition, phase change. Temperature lowering achieved by any other means may also be called cooling. The Heat transfer, transfer of Internal energy, thermal energ ...

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

, buildings, industry,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

systems. The Centre organizes courses, summer schools, public lectures, seminars and workshops in order to promote

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

and environment systems and provides professional opinion on issues of

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

and sustainability metrics. The Centre also organizes a series of international SDEWES conferences for scientists to discuss issues of sustainability of

and environment system. Through these actions, SDEWES Centre aims to provide a research platform that will provide comprehensive R&D activities, assessment and consultation on the research subjects of sustainable development.

History

SDEWES started as a project co-funded by CORDIS under the FP5 – INCO 2 programme in 2002, when first Dubrovnik Conference on

Sustainable Development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

Energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

Water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

and Environment Systems was organized. Partners in this project were

and Instituto Superior Técnico (Lisbon). After the organisation of three more conferences in 2003, 2005 and 2007, SDEWES Centre was established in 2009. Since then, eight more conferences were organized in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. As a separate regional event, the SEE SDEWES Conferences are held every two years, starting with 2014 in Ohrid. The 2nd SEE SDEWES Conference was held in Piran.

International Scientific Committee

The Committee is made of leading researchers (half of them are on the top 2% Stanford list of most influential scientists), and several are Editors-in-chief of leading journals (

, Journal of Cleaner Production, Journal of Environmental Management,

Renewable Energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

, Applied Energy). * Henrik Lund, Chair,

Aalborg University Aalborg University (AAU) is an international public university with campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1974, the university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variety of subje ...

, Aalborg, Denmark * Neven Duić, Co-chair,

, Zagreb, Croatia * Felipe Feijoo, Co-chair for the Americas, Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso, Valparaíso, Chile * Natasha Markovska, Co-Chair for the Eastern Europe, Research Center for Energy and Sustainable Development - Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, North Macedonia * Brian Vad Mathiesen, Co-Chair for Northern Europe,

, Aalborg, Denmark * Mousa Mohsen, Co-Chair for the Middle East and Africa, Commission for Academic Accreditation, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates * Antonio Piacentino, Co-Chair for Southern Europe,

University of Palermo The University of Palermo () is a public university, public research university in Palermo, Italy. It was founded in 1806, and is currently organized in 12 Faculties. History The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although it ...

, Palermo, Italy * Ingo Stadler, Co-Chair for Western Europe, TH Köln, Cologne, Germany * Poul Alberg Østergaard da">:da:Poul Alberg Østergaard">da

, Aalborg, Denmark * Ofelia Araujo, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Davide Astiaso Garcia, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy * Susana Boeykens, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina * Annamaria Buonomano,

University of Naples Federico II The University of Naples Federico II (; , ) is a public university, public research university in Naples, Campania, Italy. Established in 1224 and named after its founder, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, it is the oldest public, s ...

, Napoli, Italy * Francesco Calise,

, Napoli, Italy * Maria da Graça Carvalho, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal * Raf Dewil,

KU Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its mai ...

, Leuven, Belgium * Zvonimir Guzović,

, Zagreb, Croatia * Şiir KILKIŞ, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, Ankara, Turkey * Soteris Kalogirou, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus * Tarik Kupusović,

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo (Bosnian language, Bosnian, Croatian language, Croatian and Serbian language, Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a List of universities in Bo ...

, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Christos N. Markides,

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

, London, United Kingdom * Henning Meschede, University Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany * Carla Montagud Montalvá, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain * Benedetto Nastasi, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome, Italy * Adolfo Palombo,

, Napoli, Italy * Nikola Rajaković,

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

, Belgrade, Serbia * Daniel Rolph Schneider,

, Zagreb, Croatia * Rodney Stewart,

Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

, Gold Coast City, Australia * Krzysztof Urbaniec,

Warsaw University of Technology The Warsaw University of Technology () is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professors (including 145 titular professors). The student body ...

, Plock, Poland * Petar Sabev Varbanov, Brno University of Technology - VUT, Brno, Czech Republic * Qiuwang Wang,

Xi'an Jiaotong University Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU; zh, p=, c=西安交通大学, labels=no) is a public university in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 9 ...

, Shaanxi, China * Kledi Xhaxhiu, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania * Aleksander Zidanšek, Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, Slovenia * Kemal Hanjalic,

Delft University of Technology The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft; ) is the oldest and largest Dutch public university, public Institute of technology, technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It specializes in engineering, technology, computing, design, a ...

, Delft, Netherlands * Viatcheslav Kafarov, Industrial University of Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia * Walter Leal Filho, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany * Vladimir Lipovac, University of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik, Croatia * Simeon Oka, Institute Vinča, Belgrade, Serbia * Nikola Ružinski,

, Zagreb, Croatia * Eduardo SERRA, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Subhas K. Sikdar, Cincinnati, United States * Ivo Šlaus, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia * Xiliang Zhang,

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

, Beijing, China

SDEWES sections

New section of SDEWES Centre, SDEWES-Skopje or Macedonian section, is established in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, with the goal to gather professionals and scientists from broad range of disciplines, particularly located in the

Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and Archipelago, archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of t ...

, in order to provide scientific support for wise policy-making. SDEWES-Skopje aims to extend the activities at regional level including the other EU candidate and potential candidate countries, as well as EU neighbourhood countries to foster regional coordination in providing feasible solutions for the common challenges and gaining synergy effects. The second section of SDEWES Centre, Serbian section, has been founded in 2018.

Membership

According to the Statute of SDEWES Centre, every person can under the same circumstances apply for membership.

Conferences

Up to 2011, SDEWES Conference was organized as biennial conference in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

. From the year 2012, it is an annual event but with a geographic regime. Every two years the conference is held in Dubrovnik, and in the years between on different locations. The SDEWES 2012 Conference was held in Ohrid, and in 2014 on a cruise ship travelling between

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. In 2014, the first regional SEE SDEWES conference was held in Ohrid, Macedonia focused on South East Europe. In 2015, the 10th Conference on SDEWES was held in

. 540 scientists from over 65 countries participated. In 2016, the second regional SEE SDEWES conference was held in Piran,

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. Also in 2016, the 11th SDEWES Conference was held in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. In 2017, the 12th SDEWES Conference was held in

. In 2018, the 1st LATIN AMERICAN SDEWES Conference was held in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil, and the third regional SEE (Southeast European) SDEWES conference was held in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. Also in 2018 year, the 13th SDEWES Conference was held in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In 2019, the 14th Conference on SDEWES was held in

. In 2020, there were 4 SDEWES Conferences, the 2nd Latin American SDEWES Conference (

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

), 1st Asia Pacific SDEWES Conference ( Gold Coast,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

), 4th South East Europe SDEWES Conference (

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

) and 15th SDEWES Conference (

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

), and they have delivered around 700 presentations devoted to various sustainability topics. In 2021, the 16th Conference on SDEWES was held in

with 630 scientists and researchers from 58 countries who participated. In 2022, the fifth regional SEE SDEWES conference was held in

Vlorë Vlorë ( ; ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, third most populous city of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surr ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

and the third LATIN AMERICAN SDEWES Conference was held in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Also in 2022 year, the 17th SDEWES Conference was held in Paphos,

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. In 2023, the 18th Conference on SDEWES was held in

with 646 scientists and researchers from 58 countries. In 2024, there were 3 SDEWES Conferences, the 4th Latin American SDEWES Conference ( Vina del Mar,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

), the 2nd Asia Pacific SDEWES Conference ( Gold Coast,

), and 19th SDEWES Conference (

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

), with 700 scientists, researchers, and experts. In 2025 year, the first African SDEWES Conference is planned to be held in

Oujda Oujda (, ) is a major city in northeast Morocco near the Algeria–Morocco border, border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental (Morocco), Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of 506,224 people (2024 censu ...

/ Saidia,

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, and the 20th SDEWES Conference will held in

. Work presented at the conferences are published in scientific journals and among them, in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Energy Conversion and Management, Applied Energy, Journal of Cleaner Production, Journal of Environmental Management,

Fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Applied Thermal Engineering, Energy reports, Energies, Thermal Science, International Journal of Sustainable Energy Planning and Management, Smart Energy and Journal of Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems

Journal

SDEWES Centre is publishing research

open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...

Journal of Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (JSDEWES) since 2013. Journal is indexed in

Scopus Scopus is a scientific abstract and citation database, launched by the academic publisher Elsevier as a competitor to older Web of Science in 2004. The ensuing competition between the two databases has been characterized as "intense" and is c ...

and Emerging Science Citation Index.

Research

SDEWES Centre forms research teams from the pool of members to participate in research projects. SDEWES Centre has been involved in two FP7 projects, three Horizon 2020 projects, one EMFF / EASME project for blue economy, three projects under the

Interreg Interreg is a series of programmes to stimulate cooperation between regions in and out of the European Union (EU), funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The first Interreg started in 1989. Interreg IV covered the period 2007–2013. I ...

fund, one project under the EUKI fund, one project under the EEA and Norway Grants and one project under the European Strategy for Danube Region (EUSDR) fund START. SDEWES-Skopje (Macedonian section) has also been involved in several projects, including four Horizon 2020 projects

SDEWES Index

In line with the aims of the SDEWES Center, an index is also developed to benchmark the performance of cities across aspects that are related to energy, water and environment systems. With the namesake of the Center, the SDEWES Index consists of 7 dimensions, 35 indicators, and close to 25 sub-indicators. It is currently applied to 120 cities.

References

External links

Decarboni.se

Managenergy about SDEWES2014 Conference

Regional portal for scientific organisations

Net4society on SDEWES 2015
{{University of Zagreb Academic conferences Sustainability organizations University of Zagreb Organizations based in Zagreb Organizations established in 2009 2009 establishments in Croatia