The Hamburg Sustainability Conference took place for the third time on June 29 and 30, 2026. As part of the program, the Wilo-Foundation hosted a workshop with Youth Ambassadors, bringing together experts and partners to explore practical pathways for scaling sustainable impact.

A platform for youth-driven solutions

The Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC) once again provided an international platform for dialogue between decision-makers from politics, business, science and civil society to advance solutions for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As part of this exchange, the Wilo-Foundation continues to support the HSC Youth Ambassador Program – an initiative that enables young changemakers from different regions to contribute their perspectives, share their expertise and engage on equal footing with established stakeholders.

Building on its engagement at HSC 2025, the Wilo-Foundation continued its support of the HSC Youth Ambassador Program during this year’s conference. The initiative enables young changemakers from around the world to contribute their perspectives, share their expertise and engage in dialogue with established decision-makers on equal footing.

As part of this commitment, the Wilo-Foundation hosted a workshop co-developed with the Youth Ambassadors. The aim was to strengthen youth-led initiatives and transform ideas into concrete actions.

From barriers to action: scaling impact together

The interactive session titled “Scaling Impact: From Barriers to Action” brought together 15 HSC Youth Ambassadors and international experts from academia, business and civil society. Contributors included Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons (University of Hamburg), Jonas Restle-Steinert (Siemens Stiftung), Dr. Nader Imani (Festo Didactic), Katrin Harvey (Foundations 20), as well as Georg Weber, CTO of the Wilo Group, and David Höltgen, Member of the Executive Board of the Wilo-Foundation.

The session opened with welcoming remarks by David Höltgen, who introduced the Wilo-Foundation and its commitment to empowering young people and supporting sustainable development initiatives. Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons then introduced the thematic focus of the session, outlining key challenges and opportunities related to scaling impact. Building on this, Georg Weber provided insights into Wilo’s technological solutions and presented concrete project examples, highlighting how innovation can support sustainable transformation in practice.

The session focused on a central question: how can sustainability initiatives move from promising ideas to scalable solutions? To address this, participants explored three key levers for change – impact measurement, innovative financing and digital technologies, including artificial intelligence.

Strengthening networks for long-term impact

In small working groups, participants engaged in cross-cutting discussions across different sustainability domains such as water, energy, agriculture and the circular economy, linking sector-specific challenges with practical tools and approaches. In a subsequent deep dive, groups focused on concrete challenges, identifying possible solutions, collaboration opportunities and next steps. A consolidated presentation of the groups’ results ensured that key insights were shared and reflected across all participants.

The session was designed to generate tangible outcomes: participants left with concrete ideas to scale their initiatives, practical tools in the fields of finance, technology and impact measurement, as well as potential partners for future collaboration. At the same time, the exchange strengthened the peer network among the Youth Ambassadors and reinforced their role as drivers of sustainable change.

Background of the HSC:

The conference was initiated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the City of Hamburg, and the Michael Otto Foundation. This year, the HSC gathered around 1600 participants from over 100 countries, including heads of state and government, senior representatives from UN organizations, businesses, NGOs, and academia. More than 60 sessions and panels discussed topics such as sustainable financing, AI ethics, mobility, circular economy concepts, biodiversity, and urban transformation.