The IMPACT FESTIVAL 2025 sends a strong signal

Frankfurt am Main, December 4, 2025 – At a time when many organizations are navigating uncertainty and shifting priorities, the IMPACT FESTIVAL 2025 demonstrated a clear countertrend – the focus on the growing demand for collaboration and concrete solutions in sustainable transformation. With more than 4,000 attendees, 229 exhibitors across 114 booths, 284 speakers on five stages and 46 masterclasses, Europe’s leading B2B event for sustainable innovation once again confirmed its role as a key platform for businesses, policymakers, investors and innovators. This year, TechQuartier became the organizer and host of the IMPACT FESTIVAL, which was founded by neosfer in 2021.

Transformation between risk and responsibility

The festival opened with a keynote by Dr. Sabine Mauderer (Vice President, Deutsche Bundesbank), who emphasized that transformation is not only an ecological necessity but also a central factor for economic stability. She highlighted increasing climate-related risks and the importance of long-term investment decisions — framing why platforms like the IMPACT FESTIVAL play a crucial role.

Pictured above: Dr. Sabine Mauderer, Vice President, Deutsche Bundesbank

“That is why this event is so important. The right actors are here together: entrepreneurs developing innovative solutions, and investors enabling these solutions to scale. Transformation is not only an ecological necessity but also an economic opportunity,” Mauderer said.

Why impact is essential right now

The festival’s contributions made clear that sustainable transformation can no longer be viewed solely as a long-term perspective but must be understood as an operational task that requires immediate decision-making. Climate risks, regulatory developments, and geopolitical tensions are setting new priorities. At the same time, technological innovation, digital tools, and new business models show that solutions already exist — and that scaling them is the decisive next step.

The opening day highlighted a wide range of market-ready innovations. Expert presentations, hands-on masterclasses and a comprehensive exhibition showcased solutions in circular economy & resources, industry & infrastructure, agriculture & biodiversity, IT & services, ecosystems & organizations, and finance & insurance.

Startups and established companies presented technologies enabling CO₂ reduction, energy efficiency, biodiversity monitoring, sustainable supply chains, circular models or digital sustainability management in practice. Attendees emphasized how essential it has become to experience these solutions firsthand and discuss applicable approaches.

Picture above: Micha Fritz from Viva con Agua.

Building on this momentum, the second festival day focused on deepening conversations: entrepreneurial challenges were sharpened, perspectives across sectors were brought together, and existing topics further developed. A particularly resonant impulse came from Micha Fritz (Viva con Agua), who underscored the importance of courage, openness and societal engagement in challenging times. He emphasized that transformation requires not only technological innovation but also cultural and social change:

“We need entirely new paradigms. We will not solve the problems of the 21st century with the mindsets of the past.”

This year’s international speaker lineup included: Mojib Latif, Jörg Kukies, Micha Fritz, Sophia Rödiger, Dr. Sabine Mauderer, Zainab Salbi, Rolf Stahlhofen, Katharina Reuter and Wolfgang Gründiger.

New networking formats facilitate exchange

Alongside the broad expert program, networking played a significant role. The newly introduced Festival & Networking Area provided space for conversations, matchmaking and direct exchanges between startups, corporates and investors. It was complemented by new stage formats on the FESTIVAL Stage, including the open Pitchlympics, which encouraged spontaneous interaction without overshadowing the event’s core content.

Another feature was the Tattoo Area, where visitors could receive a “Tattoo with Impact” — an organ donation tattoo offered in cooperation with Junge Helden e.V. The strong interest demonstrated that low-threshold formats can foster additional points of contact and deepen conversations, while the festival’s focus clearly remained on substantive contributions and solutions.

IMPACT AWARD 2025 Winners

The festival concluded with the IMPACT AWARD ceremony, organized together with brand eins and a jury from better ventures. The ceremony was hosted by Toni Willkommen.

This year’s winners were:

• PFLANZENTHEKE GmbH – Solution Award

• Power2Polymers – Innovation Award

Both award-winning projects exemplify the diversity and forward-looking nature of innovation within the sustainability sector.

“IMPACT FESTIVAL demonstrated once again how important structured spaces for collaboration and exchange are in the transformation process. The breadth of discussions, the depth of expertise and the quality of solutions underline the strength of our ecosystem. We look forward to continuing this path together and further developing the festival as a dedicated platform for sustainable innovation,” Alice Rettig, Managing Director of TechQuartier said.

The IMPACT FESTIVAL will continue to expand its role as a leading European platform for sustainable transformation. The next edition will take place from November 25 to 26, 2026 at the Frankfurt Messe.