BuildENVIRONMENT!

Niko Heeren

Industrial Ecology Scientist

About

I am an Adjunct Professor for Industrial Ecology at the Norwegian University of Science & Technology NTNU, a lecturer for Prospective Environmental Assessment at ETH Zurich, and sustainability specialist at the city of Zurich. Furthermore, I am a Data Editor at the journals of Industrial Ecology and Nature Scientific Data.

My research focuses on the analysis and forecast of environmental impacts of socio-economic systems, such as building stocks. In my work I often combine methods and tools from the environmental and computational science disciplines to develop, for instance, probabilistic approaches for big data analysis.

Education

  • Doctor of Sciences in Environmental Engineering, 2017

    ETH Zurich

  • MSc ClimaDesign, 2011

    TU Munich

  • MAS Architecture & Développement Durable, 2008

    EPF Lausanne

  • BSc Environmental & Resource Management, 2006

    TU Cottbus

Skills

Building & Building stocks Analysis

Thermal simulation, BIM, certification, etc.

Open Sustainability Science

Research & Teaching in Industrial Ecology, LCA, MFA, etc.

Computer modelling

Python, SQL, GIS, Big data, etc.

Experience

 
 
 
 
 
Adjunct Professor for Industrial Ecology
Norwegian University of Science & Technology NTNU
Jan 2020 – Present Trondheim, Norway
 
 
 
 
 
Specialist for Sustainable Construction
City of Zurich
Jan 2020 – Present Zurich, Switzerland
 
 
 
 
 
Lecturer
ETH Zurich
Jan 2017 – Present Zurich, Switzerland
 
 
 
 
 
Postdoctoral Associate
Yale University, Center for Industrial Ecology
Jan 2018 – Oct 2019 New Haven, USA
 
 
 
 
 
Teacher & Consultant in Building Simulation and Certification
E4tech Software Ltd. (Lesosai)
Jan 2010 – Dec 2019 Lausanne, Switzerland
 
 
 
 
 
Postdoctoral Researcher
ETH Zurich
Jan 2017 – Dec 2018 Zurich, Switzerland
Chair of Ecological System Design and Chair of Sustainable Construction
 
 
 
 
 
PhD Student
ETH Zurich, Chair of Ecological System Design, Institute of Environmental Engineering
Mar 2012 – Dec 2016 Zurich, Switzerland
 
 
 
 
 
Research Assistant
ETH Zurich, Chair of Sustainable Construction, Institute of Construction & Infrastructure Management
Mar 2008 – Feb 2012 Zurich, Switzerland
 
 
 
 
 
Guest Lecturer
École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Strasbourg
Mar 2008 – Jun 2010 Strasbourg, France

Blog

Updates, thoughts, and rants

UN report RECC Webinar
Want to learn more about our work behind the report to the G7 and United Nations Environment Programme? In two 1,5 hour webinars we offer an in-depth view into our modelling work and the policy piece by Reid Lifset. Modelling Policy
Mar 25, 2021 1 min read
UN report RECC Webinar
End of 2019 IEDC Update
Yes – data science is hard, especially in the Industrial Ecology domain. Therefore, we launched the Industrial Ecology Data Commons (IEDC) earlier this year. It allows researcher to quickly download data from important Industrial Ecology research papers. In a final update for this year, we uploaded another 10+ datasets to the Industrial Ecology Data Commons (IEDC) server. With that update, the database now holds approximately 1.1 million data points from more than 180 datasets.
Dec 18, 2019 1 min read
End of 2019 IEDC Update

Featured Publications

Browse all publications here 🔍

Please contact me for more information or if you have difficulty accessing publications.


Global Scenarios of Resource and Emissions Savings from Systemic Material Efficiency in Buildings and Cars
Material production accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Resource-efficiency and circular-economy …
DOI
Global Scenarios of Resource and Emissions Savings from Systemic Material Efficiency in Buildings and Cars
Resource Efficiency and Climate Change: Material Efficiency Strategies for a Low-Carbon Future
This report was developed by the IRP in response to a request by leaders of the Group of 7 nations in the context of efforts to promote resource efficiency as a core element of sustainable development. It conducts a rigorous assessment of the contribution of material efficiency to GHG abatement strategies. More concretely, it assesses the reduction potential of GHG emissions from material efficiency strategies applied in residential buildings and light duty vehicles, and reviews policies that address these strategies.
PDF Code Project DOI
Resource Efficiency and Climate Change: Material Efficiency Strategies for a Low-Carbon Future
Bridging the gap: enhancing material efficiency in residential buildings and cars
Research has shown that demand-side material efficiency offers substantial GHG mitigation opportunities that are complementary to those …
Project
Bridging the gap: enhancing material efficiency in residential buildings and cars
A Database Seed for a Community-driven Material Intensity Research Platform
The data record contains Material Intensity data for buildings (MI). MI coefficients are often used for different types of analysis of …
PDF Code DOI
A Database Seed for a Community-driven Material Intensity Research Platform
Tracking Construction Material over Space and Time: Prospective and Geo-referenced Modeling of Building Stocks and Construction Material Flows
Construction material plays an increasingly important role in the environmental impacts of buildings. In order to investigate impacts …
PDF DOI
Tracking Construction Material over Space and Time: Prospective and Geo-referenced Modeling of Building Stocks and Construction Material Flows

Publications

Please contact me for more information or if you have difficulty accessing publications.

Kamila Krych, Niko Heeren, Edgar Hertwich (2021). Factors influencing the life-cycle GHG emissions of Brazilian office buildings. Building & Cities.

DOI

Eric Masanet, Niko Heeren, Shigemi Kagawa, Jonathan Cullen, Reid Lifset, Richard Wood (2021). Material efficiency for climate change mitigation. Journal of Industrial Ecology.

DOI

Tomer Fishman, Niko Heeren, Stefan Pauliuk, Peter Berrill, Qingshi Tu, Paul Wolfram, Edgar Hertwich (2021). A comprehensive set of global scenarios of housing, mobility, and material efficiency for material cycles and energy systems modelling. 2021.

DOI

Claude Leyder, Michael Klippel, Olin Bartlomé, Niko Heeren, Sarah Kissling, Yutaka Goto, Andrea Frangi (2021). Investigations on the Sustainable Resource Use of Swiss Timber. Sustainability.

DOI

Stefan Pauliuk, Niko Heeren (2020). Material efficiency and its contribution to climate change mitigation in Germany: A deep decarbonization scenario analysis until 2060. Journal of Industrial Ecology.

DOI

Farzin Golzar, Niko Heeren, Stefanie Hellweg, Ramin Roshandel (2020). Optimisation of energy-efficient greenhouses based on an integrated energy demand-yield production model. Biosystems Engineering.

DOI

See all publications

Topics

​​

Architecture BEEM-UP project Big data Biomass BIPV Building physics Building stock Carbon budget Carbon strorage Cars Cement China Circular Economy Code Collaboration Criticality Data Data Science Dynamics Energy Europe Food German GHG GIS Greenhouse Household Industrial Ecology Industry Infrastructure LCA Lighting Material Material-Energy Nexus MFA Model NRP 73 project NRP66 project Open Access Open Science Optimisation PhD Probabilistic Prospective Publishing PV RECC RECC project Recycling Renewable Energy Report Resource Efficiency Retrofit Review Scenarios Simulation Software Switzerland Transport United Nations Urban Urban heat Wood ZEB