United Nations University Selects Prof. Edeltraud Guenther to Head Dresden-Based Institute

The United Nations University (UNU) has appointed  Prof. Dr. Edeltraud Günther as the next Director of its Dresden-based Institute, effective 1 September 2018. Previously under the leadership of Dr Reza Ardakanian since its launch in 2012, the Institute (UNU-FLORES) develops strategies to promote the sustainable use and integrated management of environmental resources like water, soil, and waste.

Prof. Guenther brings nearly 30 years of research and teaching experience to her new position. Since 1996 she has been the Chair of Environmental Management and Accounting, Faculty of Business and Economics, at the Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden). She has taught classes in environmental management, environmental accounting, and sustainability management, and conducted research on environmental and sustainability performance, barrier and risk analysis, and sustainable and value-based management.

She is founder and head of PRISMA – Centre for Sustainability Assessment and Policy at TU Dresden (since 2016). Her other roles at TU Dresden have included serving as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, Member of the Senate, and Chairperson of the Environment Commission. Prior to joining TU Dresden, Prof. Guenther was a research assistant and project leader at the Bavarian Institute of Applied Environmental Research and Technology GmbH. She has also been a visiting professor at the McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia (USA; 2005–2016), at Kobe University (Japan; 2015), and at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (2017).

“As Director of UNU-FLORES, my priority will be to strengthen the Nexus Approach and consolidate the successful activities started in the founding phase of the Institute,” said Prof. Guenther. “I see huge potential for increasing the research output based on the rich data gained from past, current, and future projects.”

Please follow the links below for the United Nations press releases:
German version
English version

Informationen for journalists:
UNU HQ, Tokyo: Hillary McBride
UNU Head of Communications
Tel.: +81 (0) 80 4202 7599


UNU-FLORES, Dresden: Rachel Ahrens
Communications and Advocacy Officer
Tel.: +49 (0) 351 8921 9377