Our advisory board
The advisory board for Smarter for Finance for EU will support the Smarter4EU project as it develops by providing current knowledge on governance, transparency and impartiality of partner countries certification systems.
The board will also counsel on key changes that should be made on transferability of standards and alignments in certification, and best practice guidance for the Smarter4EU program.
Hanane El Hayek
Chair of the Smarter Finance for EU Advisory Board Hanane is the Head of Sustainable Finance at the Scientific and Technical Centre for Building in France CSTB with 12 years’ experience implementing ESG strategies in the real estate sector as a sustainability and sustainable finance expert. She holds two master's degrees in mechanical engineering and renewable energy and multiple international certifications, including the "Certificate in ESG Investing" from the CFA Institute. Hanane has worked with various stakeholders, from developers and portfolio managers to financial institutions and international organizations, shaping her views on global sustainability transitions and transformations along the value chain. She currently heads ESG and sustainable finance at the French Green Building Council and CERTIVEA. She represents her organizations in the "Sustainable Finance Policy Taskforce" chaired by the World Green Building Council, where she leads the "EU Taxonomy verification and the role of green buildings certifications" workgroup. She also chairs the Advisory Board of the Smarter Finance for EU project and is an active member in the Technical Working Group of the Climate Bonds Initiative. Hanane is passionate about facilitating and accelerating the just transition towards a low-carbon and resilient economy through innovation, collaboration, and education.
Viel Sørensen
Norwegian Green Building Council / Grønn Byggallianse
Viel is the director of Certification Norwegian Green Building Council / Grønn Byggallianse and leads all certification activities in NGBC. The council manages BREEAM-NOR, a certification scheme for new construction and refurbishment of buildings. In addition to providing a holistic approach to sustainability, the scheme has included the EU taxonomy for sustainable finance and gives construction projects the opportunity to show compliance with the taxonomy. NGBC is also in the process of establishing a separate verification scheme for the EU taxonomy.
Seema Issar
Seema Issar earned her Bachelor's degree in International Economics from the University of Tübingen and completed her Master's degree in Global Sustainable Cities in Glasgow. Since 2018, she has been working at DGNB, where she serves as the team lead for the certification system Buildings In Use and Sustainable Finance. During this time, she has been involved in the development of the DGNB System for Building In Use and the study on the market applicability of EU Taxonomy requirements for buildings. In 2022, she led the pan-European study on the market feasibility of the Circular Economy Taxonomy and collaborated with the DGNB Academy to develop the "DGNB ESG-Manager" training program, aimed at making the topic of ESG and sustainability applicable to building operations. Most recently she was involved in developing the standard DIN SPEC 91475 for data points required in the environmental analysis for real estate
Carolina Larsson
Carolina is the Head of Certification Schemes at Sweden Green Building Council with 18 years’ experience spanning various roles, including consulting in energy and HVAC design, property management and client work at Locum, Sweden's largest manager of hospital buildings. She currently serves on the World Green Building Council Finance Taskforce and the European Regional Network SIG Certification Schemes. Previously she worked as Lead development engineer in the climate impact, energy, and transport domain within the construction company Peab. Carolina is a committed, creative, and driven energy systems engineer, passionate about sustainable development in the construction sector. She thrives on creative problem-solving and setting clear goals. Her main motivation is to create positive change and improvement for society, individuals, and organizations.
Assoc. Professor Dr. Sanela Klaric
Sanela is the Chairwoman of the Green Council Bosnia-Herzegovina, Associated Prof. Dr at the International BURCH University, President of the Chamber of Engineers in FBiH, Member of the Parliament of Federation of BiH, member of Global Alliance for Green New Deal, member of the organisational board of New European Bauhaus in BiH and BiH Association of Architects as well as Landscape architects. She is an expert on biobased and natural building materials and completed projects and publications focused on the topic. She previously worked for OSCE, and the UK Government, as an independent consultant on justice and rural development projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as on EU projects focused on civil sector networking and broader support to civil sector in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Sanela is an expert in EU integration issues, in the fields of rural development, environment, energy efficiency and sustainable development. She moderates public events, and designed and implemented several training courses for government institutions, nongovernmental sector and political representatives. Sanela’s goal is to promote the use of natural materials, supported by an interdisciplinary approach and linking together the fields of architecture, housing, rural development, environment protection, climate change, economy, and employment.
Julie Emmrich
World Green Building Council
Julie is Sustainable Finance Lead at WorldGBC driving the network's sustainable finance agenda, building on the expertise and experience from Green Building Councils and partners in the network to accelerate industry and policy action at global scale. With a strong background in sustainable finance and climate policy Julie has worked at the nexus of finance, research and policy. Before joining WorldGBC Julie worked in leading climate policy think tanks, particularly on sectoral transformations, sustainable finance and the Sustainable Development Goals. Julie also represents the WorldGBC network on the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance.
Stefania Striato
Stefania holds a master’s degree in Building Engineering from Politecnico di Milano. She gained experience in sustainability and energy efficiency of buildings both in the academia as research fellow at the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano, and as consultant for different design and construction firms. In 2021 she joined Green Building Council Italia as technical expert. She is responsible for the certification area, dealing with sustainability rating systems, working groups and innovative projects. Stefania serves on three working groups in GBC Italia: Digitalization: BACS/BEMS Digitalization: BIM/Digital Twin Taxonomy-ESG
Alicja Kuczera
Alicja is the CEO of the Polish Green Building Council and an expert in sustainable buildings and construction, the circular economy and decarbonization of the built environment. For a decade, she has been dynamically developing Poland's most vibrant NGO in the construction sector, which aims to make sustainability the norm in Polish built environment. Alicja currently chairs the CEO network of green building councils at the World Green Building Council, initiating and implementing international projects to combat climate change. The author of numerous reports and publications on green building, she is also a speaker at various conferences and events organized in Poland and abroad. In private life a happy mum, keen on travelling (has visited 82 out of 196 yet-to see countries), adores a healthy and eco lifestyle.
Dr. Anna-Vera Deinhammer
Anna-Vera is a Vienna based strategist, lobbyist, and integral engineering scientist. Her work focuses on the circular economy in construction, integral construction research and engineering science, and is currently the Vice President and Director for Circular Cities & Regions in the Circular Economy Forum Austria. She represents the Austrian Sustainable Building Council ÖGNI at the World Green Building Council and the Climate Positive Europe Alliance CPEA in Brussels. She is involved in standards development in the "sustainability of buildings" committee of the Austrian Standards Institute ASI, cooperating with Austrian municipalities. Anna-Vera is also a member of the Global Advisory Council under the auspices ALL Ladies League, SDG Goal 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities for the G100, Group of 100 Global Women Leaders, (G100: Group of 100 Global Women Leaders). In addition, she holds the Endowed Chair for Sustainable Real Estate Development at the University of Applied Sciences for Management and Communication FHWien der WKW, which is 100% financed by the real estate industry. She holds a diploma in architecture and a doctorate in integral engineering in the field of holistic quality assessment of buildings. All her activities centre on the creation of a healthy and liveable built environment using a Quadruple Helix approach combining the perspectives of business, science, civil society, and politics.