Dr J. Daniel Dahm

Founder, Managing Director, United Sustainability Group 

Dr. J. Daniel Dahm dedicates his work since the 1990s to the (re)generation and restoration of humanities (material and immaterial) common livelihoods. In particular, the ecological and economic interactions between the biogeosphere and the anthroposphere and their realizations in politics, society and (financial) economy are central to his work.

Beside being Councilor of the World Future Council, he is member of the Vereinigung Deutscher Wissenschaftler VDW (Federation of German Scientists), member of the German Association Club of Rome, advisory board member of Forum Anthropozän, Austria, advisory board member of Hamburg Climate Week, advisory board member of Cocreation Foundation, scientific committee member of the Colloqui di Martina Franca, Italy. As jury chairman of INTERNORGA exhibition fair, he grants annually the Internorga Future Award for the HMC Hamburg Messe u. Congress.

As founder of the United Sustainability Group (United Sustainability Holding GmbH, United Sustainability GmbH, United Sustainability Valuation & Accounting GmbH) he focusses on strategic (impact-) investments for the regeneration of our natural ecosystems, resources, and common livelihoods, as well as on the buildup of sustainable infrastructures for basic needs. As (co-)founder he initiated since 2006 various corporations, organizations and foundations, i.a. 2007 the internet portal utopia.de and Utopia-Foundation, 2008 das Ecosocial Forum Germany, 2009 Desertec Foundation, 2011 the first international exhibition fair for sustainable consume goods (goodgoods with HMC Hamburg Messe u. Congress), 2013 the first international exhibition fair for sustainable design (ecostyle with Frankfurt Messe).

For UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) he represented 2019 the field of circular economy as chairman of the expert panel Circular Economy and Waste Management, for the advisory council for sustainable development of the State of Brandenburg he was from 2011 to 2015 member of the experts group Sustainable Financial Policy.

Scientifically, he has had a career of excellence, was as academic lecturer and research fellow in various scientific functions at universities and international research institutions. Formerly he was senior fellow at the prestigious Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies IASS, vice-director and research leader at the European Centre for Sustainability Research ECS, Zeppelin University, scientific director of the research group Ethical-Ecological Rating at Goethe University Frankfurt a.M. Previously he was research leader at the Institute for Household and Consumer Politics, University Hohenheim, and for many years research leader at Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, Energy.

2000 he received the Schweisfurth Award for Ecological Economics of the Association for Ecological Economy Germany. 2006 he was granted by the Natural History Museum London as Research Fellow for Science in Innovation of the Darwin Initiative in the UK Biodiversity Program of the Royal Society of Science.

Daniel Dahm published over 60 scientific articles and book contributions, his latest book is “Benchmark Nachhaltigkeit. Sustainability Zeroline. Maß einer zukunftsfähigen Ökonomie“, published in 2019.  2008 he was named by the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt as Fellow for Responsible Leadership.

Dr J. Daniel Dahm  is a Councillor of the World Future Council.