Peter Melis
Chair for sustainability, energy transition and circularity
Peter Melis is the ideal chair for events focused on sustainability, energy transition and circularity. If you're looking for someone with substantive expertise, passion and dedication, he's your man. What sets him apart is that he truly lives the topic. In 2019, he built his own tiny house of 21 m², using ecological building materials and a circular kitchen counter, and he has been living in a community near Delft for years now. You notice that practical experience in both the preparation and on stage. Additionally, he produces the podcast De Energie Gasten, where he interviews pioneers in the energy transition, and he organizes retreats in untamed nature. Energetic, decisive, sharp and humorous—and he has an infallible sense for when to ask follow-up questions to get to the heart of the matter.
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Biography
Moderator since 2015
Peter Melis (1987) has been working as a conference chair at events on sustainability, energy transition and circularity since 2015. Drawing on extensive policy experience, including work for government bodies and the Council for the Living Environment and Infrastructure, he bridges the gap between technology and governance context. He is a member of the Good Conference Chairs professional group.
He lived the theme himself
In 2019, Peter built his own tiny house: 21 m², constructed from ecological building materials, with a circular kitchen counter and finds from Marktplaats. After that educational period, he has been living with great pleasure for years in a community in Den Hoorn, just south of Delft. His curiosity keeps him sharp on what's happening in the sector.
Back to the Wild
The transition to a sustainable world is not just about technological solutions; the inner transformation required might well be more important. For this reason, Peter founded Back to the Wild in 2017 together with partner Thijs Visser, a company that organizes retreats in raw nature, both domestically and internationally.
The Energy Guests and the Profession
When he's not in nature or on a stage, you'll find Peter in the studio working on his podcast De Energie Gasten, where he interviews inspiring pioneers in the energy transition. He continues to develop himself to deepen his craft: from improvisation theatre to non-violent communication, from meditation to a voice workshop.
Expertise
The bridge between technology and governance
The biggest risk at a sustainability event is that the technicians and decision-makers talk past each other. Peter speaks both languages: from his policy experience with governments and the Council for the Living Environment and Infrastructure, he understands how decision-making works, and from ten years of events and his podcast, he knows what's actually happening on the technical side. He translates from one side to the other without either feeling oversimplified.
Interviewing on content
For the Climate College Tour, Peter interviewed, among others, Marjan Minnesma, Jelmer Mommers and Boyan Slat; in The Energy Guests he regularly speaks with sector leaders. This routine produces an interviewer who prepares on the subject matter and not just on the guest, and who thereby takes the conversation further than standard questions.
Event design, not just presenting
Peter thinks from the objective of the meeting and works backward toward the setup: which components, what sequence, where are the interactive moments and where does the audience need something that isn't yet in the plan. This saves clients from a program that is substantively correct but falls apart like loose sand.
The inner side of the transition
With Back to the Wild, Peter works on the conviction that the transition is not only about technology, but also about the change that people themselves undergo. Training in improvisational theater, nonviolent communication, meditation and voice work come together in this approach. They explain why he is able to keep an audience together even on sensitive or polarized topics.
Themes
Energy Transition and Policy
From Regional Energy Strategy to the administrative reality surrounding it. Peter makes the connection between what is technically possible and what is policy-wise feasible.
Grid congestion, sun, wind and energy storage
Sub-topics within the energy transition that he facilitated multiple events on and that he regularly explores in depth through his podcast.
Circular economy
How raw materials can be used differently is a question that personally fascinates him. He opened, among other things, the first peel factory of PeelPioneers.
Electric transport and clean mobility
Charging infrastructure, mobility transition and the practical questions that come with it.
Industry and port
Sustainability of the Port of Rotterdam and the chemical industry, with associated scale and chain-related issues.
Sustainability in Healthcare
One of the less obvious, yet certainly relevant aspects of the sustainability challenge.
Why Peter
At home with the subject matter
Ten years of chairing meetings in this sector plus his own podcast mean that Peter knows the jargon, the players, and the open debates. He doesn't need to get up to speed — he adds value.
He asks the right questions at the right time
Peter infallibly senses when an answer remains stuck in generalities and pushes through to the essence. Exactly where a session shifts from informative to compelling.
Involve him early
Peter comes into his own best when he's involved in the event design from the start: from objective to setup, with interactive moments and a varied program. You're hiring more than someone who just talks through the day.
Credible among impact entrepreneurs
He built his own tiny house and lives in an intentional community. For entrepreneurs who see sustainability as the core of their business operations, he is a conversation partner who knows it from the inside out.
Even on polarized topics
Peter facilitated a kick-off meeting on nuclear energy for a divided audience and worked with the client to develop an approach that actually sparked discussion rather than shutting it down.
Broader than the stage
Chair of the day, online host, webinar chair, podcast host, interviewer or keynote speaker on his tiny house. One person for multiple parts of your program or campaign.
Talks
Moderation
Half day to full dayEnergetic, sharp and time-conscious
Peter seeks interaction with the audience from the start, lets speakers on stage shine, and keeps time without losing his flexibility.
From Objective to Strategy
Involve him early and he delivers a concrete action plan: how you move from objective to program, where interaction belongs, and how you keep the day varied and engaging.
Asking the right questions where it matters
His substantive expertise allows him to go beyond prepared answers in interviews and panels. This applies equally to topics where the audience is divided.
Reviews
“Peter Melis is in every way the chair you feel comfortable with as a speaker: excellently prepared, to the point, perfectly attuned to the atmosphere in the room, and keeps a close eye on time. Moreover, Peter is a charming man with humor and plenty of energy. In short, a guarantee for a successful event.”
“At the SmartPort Summit 2022, 2023 and 2025, Peter was an outstanding moderator of the day. He reads the room well, knows how to create an intimate atmosphere in which genuine conversation flows, and is extremely thorough in his preparation. What I particularly appreciate is his passion for content, sustainability and transitions; he is not merely focused on the process.”
“Thanks to Peter, our kick-off meeting on nuclear energy was a great success. With his energetic and decisive style, Peter managed to bring the mixed, not to say polarized, group into conversation with each other. During the preparation phase, Peter had a good sense that our objective called for something special. In close collaboration with Peter, we succeeded in developing a particularly creative approach.”
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