The Swiss Sufficiency Lab (SSL) is a think-and-do tank for reimagining how we live, work, and thrive within planetary boundaries. More than a research initiative, it is a growing movement that unites researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and citizens to make sufficiency a practical and inspiring lever for sustainable transformation. This talk introduces sufficiency as a pathway to living well within planetary boundaries and explores what it can unlock for Switzerland and beyond. Dr. Mashael Yazdanie, President of the Swiss Sufficiency Lab, will share the SSL's vision and how it is putting sufficiency into practice through network-building, cross-sector partnerships, and translating evidence into action. She will also outline concrete ways to get involved.

As part of the World Sufficiency Lab, the SSL connects Switzerland to an international community of pioneers testing and scaling sufficiency strategies across diverse contexts. By working across sectors and borders, the SSL seeks to spark imagination and enable action grounded in equity and justice. Together, we can co-create solutions that reduce the demand for natural resources, enhance well-being, and demonstrate that societies can thrive within ecological limits.

Dr. Mashael Yazdanie is a Group Leader of Macro-Energy Systems at the Urban Energy Systems Laboratory (Empa), President and co-founder of the Swiss Sufficiency Lab, and a Scientific Committee Member of the World Sufficiency Lab. She holds a BASc in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo (Canada) and an MSc and PhD from ETH Zurich. Her research focuses on sustainable energy systems modeling, with a strong interest in systems thinking and transdisciplinary methods that connect technology, policy, and society. Dr. Yazdanie has collaborated with international organizations and research institutes on climate resilience and sustainability across the Global North and Global South, working in multidisciplinary teams to address urban energy transformation challenges. She is a committed advocate for holistic and integrated approaches to tackling the climate crisis, grounded in equity and aimed at co-creating resilient, sustainable, and just societies.