Lamia Messari-Becker is named “Thought Leader 2024“

Lamia Messari-Becker is named “Thought Leader 2024“ 

• The Thought Leader Forum honors one of the world’s most sought-after experts in sustainable construction and climate protection in the building sector
• Award ceremony on May, 14^th, 2024 at the “Thought Leader Forum” at Goethe University Frankfurt/Germany.

Kassel/Germany, January 18th, 2024 – Prof. Dr. Lamia Messari-Becker is honored as the “Thought Leader 2024” for her commitment to sustainability and socially responsible climate protection in the building industry. The Thought Leader Forum has been recognizing outstanding personalities contributing significantly to the future of our society with the “Thought Leader Award” for 15 years. The aim of the award, presented by an independent jury*, is to bring attention and importance to the socially relevant theme of “Bold Thinking”.

Born in Morocco, the Thought Leader of 2024 is a civil engineer known for her unique holistic perspective on the ecological, economic, social, and socio-cultural dimensions of the building sector. Years ago, she warned against an energy transition that primarily focuses on electricity, neglecting other forms of energy such as heat and fuels. She consistently emphasized that the exclusive focus on electric energy, especially for heating, is a serious mistake.

Lamia Messari-Becker argues that concentrating on electricity in all sectors – buildings, industry, and transportation – is a significant error. She points to Germany, where the share of renewable energy in electricity is 50%. However, electricity represents only 20% of Germany’s total energy demand, not accounting for future increases in demand. Even with technological progress and associated efficiency technologies, it would not be feasible to transition all sectors exclusively to electricity, especially if the majority of this electricity comes from wind and solar energy without parallel growth in electricity storage capacities and network infrastructure. For Lamia Messari-Becker, it is an imperative of ecological, economic, and social responsibility to diversify the energy transition, utilize as many climate-friendly energy sources as possible, and particularly focus on a renewable heating supply that guarantees a necessary minimum level, such as through geothermal energy.

Heiko Hauser, CEO of the financial advisory group Plansecur, which initiated the Thought Leader Forum, draws the connection to world politics: “Our Thought Leader of 2024 has shown a path ahead of others on how the sustainability goals formulated by the United Nations can serve as a guideline in the building sector. She has passionately and foresightedly developed this value compass for sustainability in construction through various offices and functions. Currently, Lamia Messari-Becker is shaping the professional and societal debate on resource efficiency, climate protection, and sustainability in the construction sector like few others.” 

The jury chairman of the Thought Leader Forum, Prof. Gabriel Felbermayr, Director of the Austrian Institute for Economic Research, states: “Lamia Messari-Becker’s approaches to resource-conscious circular economy in construction, socially responsible climate protection, especially in existing buildings, ecological and affordable housing, innovative neighborhood approaches, climate-adapted built environment, space, and urban planning, sustainable energy supply, and mobility are characterized by a holistic and differentiated approach. She considers both technical and social innovations and advocates for the necessary transformation within our democratic structures.” 

Early commitment to a diversified energy transition

Lamia Messari-Becker addresses the resource question comprehensively. She has long called for a fundamentally different approach to all resources, including land, raw materials, and energy. For many years, she has focused on renovation issues in existing buildings, such as a CO₂ emissions trading system in the construction sector that life cycle-based assesses the ecological and economic efficiency of renovation measures. She also addressed municipal climate protection, neighborhood approaches, building resource certifications, and circular construction, demanding corresponding political framework conditions. She advocates for a socio-ecological urban and spatial planning, a partnership between urban and rural areas, and calls for climate protection as well as climate adaptation measures.

Resume of the Thought Leader 2024

Lamia Messari-Becker is a civil engineer and professor of building technology and building physics at the University of Siegen/Germany. Born in Morocco in 1973, she came to Germany in 1992 for her studies. In 2001, she completed her civil engineering studies at the Technical University of Darmstadt. In 2006, she earned her doctorate with the thesis “Concept for sustainable CO₂ emissions reduction in existing residential buildings, including CO2 certificates”. From 2009 to 2013, she was the head of a planning office, implementing projects in Germany, France, Italy, Norway, Austria, Morocco, Switzerland, and Turkey.

Lamia Messari-Becker has been and is a member of numerous committees, including serving from 2016 to 2020 on the federal German Advisory Council on the Environment and from 2017 to 2022 in the “Future Construction“ expert group of the Federal Republic of Germany. She is an expert for the German Bundestag and has been a member of the Club of Rome International since 2020. Lamia Messari-Becker advocates for diversity, equality, and integration. The mother of two is an alumna of the International Leadership Visitor Program of the U.S. government and a supporter of the “Faces of Democracy“ initiative.

Previous Awardees 

Before Prof. Dr. Lamia Messari-Becker, AI and robotics researcher Prof. Sebastian Thrun (2022), political scientist Prof. Bassam Tibi (2019), the German Council of Economic Experts (2018), Dr. h.c. Frank-Jürgen Weise (2016), Dr. Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller (2015), Jean-Claude Juncker (2014), Prof. Paul Kirchhof (2011), Bishop Dr. Wolfgang Huber (2009), and Prof. Nobert Walter (2008) were honored as Thought Leaders.

* The jury includes economist Prof. Dr. Gabriel Felbermayr as chairman, Prof. Dr. Monika Schnitzer, chairwoman of the German Council of Economic Experts, AI pioneer Prof. Dr. Sebastian Thrun (Thought Leader 2022), news journalist Dr. Claus Kleber, Prof. Michael Binder, Ph.D., holder of the Chair of International Macroeconomics and Empirical Economic Research at Goethe University, former Federal Minister Julia Klöckner, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Wolfgang Baake, former representative for the German Evangelical Alliance at the seat of the German government, Thorsten Alsleben, CEO of the Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft (Initiative new social market economy), Prof. Dr. Renate Köcher, managing director of the Institute for Demoscopy in Allensbach, Plansecur CEO Heiko Hauser and his predecessor Johannes Sczepan, as well as financial advisors Gunther Otto and Johannes Schäffer.

Partners of the Thought Leader Forum 2024 include the ALH Group, Württembergische Versicherung, F.A.Z., and the House of Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt.