Future-proof the Green Transition – Mobilize for Safe and Sustainable by Design

October 7th, 2025, 8:30 – 17:30 CET, Stockholm. The conference will be held in English.

Future-proof the Green Transition - Mobilize for Safe and Sustainable Innovation

Innovation is critical to the green transition — but needs to consider both safety and sustainability across value chains. This full-day conference brings together thought leaders, innovators, industry and decision-makers to tackle one urgent question: How can we embed safety and sustainability into innovation from start?

Expect inspiring keynotes, interactive panels, and meaningful networking that spark new collaborations and drive real-world impact.

Why this matters

Despite ambitious goals across Sweden and the EU, sustainability and chemical safety are still too often handled in isolation. As a result, the full potential for impact remains untapped.

To succeed, we need a holistic approach — where sustainability, safety, design, finance, circular economy and policy move together. This event is a platform to connect the dots, share insights, and shape smarter innovation across the value chain.

Who should join

Whether you oversee innovation, shape policy, fund technology or champion sustainable development: Your role is essential.

This is your opportunity to engage, influence, and help build a safer, more sustainable future — from lab to lasting change — while gaining fresh insights into the latest methods driving holistic sustainable innovation.

Moderator

Asli Tamer Vestlund

Dr. Asli Tamer Vestlund is the European Program Lead at Change Chemistry. With 20 years' experience across multinational companies, academia, and trade associations, her expertise includes regulatory compliance, consumer product legislation, stakeholder engagement across diverse value chains and developing impactful training programs.

Agenda and speakers

08:30 - 09:00

Registration and coffee

Welcome by Organizer and Moderator

09:20 - 09:45

Keynote: Navigating Chemical Safety in a Shifting Regulatory Landscape

Per Ängquist, Director General Swedish Chemicals Agency

09:45 - 10:45

Session 1: Enabling Europe’s Green Transition - The Role of Policy, Networks, and Collaboration for Safe and Sustainable Innovation

Garbine Guiu Etxeberria, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission

Irantzu Garmendia Aguirre, Joint Research Center (JRC)

Nina Melander, Substitutionscentrum, RISE

Emma Strömberg, IRISS SSbD Community

10:45 - 11:15

Coffee break

11:15 - 12:00

Session 2: Funding Change: Aligning research and finance to deliver safe and sustainable innovation

Jerker Ligthart, Senior Chemical Expert, Chemsec

Simon Cogen, Scientific policy officer REACH and Sustainable Chemistry, BE Federal Ministry of Economy

Therese Woodhill, Senior Research Officer, Formas

12:00 - 13:00

Lunch break

13:00 - 14:15

Panel discussion: Accelerating Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) through innovation

Eva Kathrin Schillinger, Secretery General, The Innovative Advanced Materials Initiative (IAM-I)

Daniel Simon, Program Office, Wallenberg Initiative Material Science for Sustainability (WISE)

Lars Friberg, Climate strategist, Vinnova

14:15 - 14:45

Coffee break

14:45 - 16:00

Panel discussion: Making SSbD Happen: Opportunities, Challenges, and the Way Forward

Daniel Paska, Director Sustainability Policy, Ericsson

Irene Bramke, Associate Director Environmental Risk Assessment, Astra Zeneca

Marcus Wangel, Environmental Policy, Svenskt Näringsliv/Confedereation of Swedish Enterprise

16:00 - 16:30

Way forward: Charting the Course for a Safe and Sustainable Sweden

16:30 - 17:30

Networking mingle

Organizers

RISE Research Institute of Sweden

RISE is Sweden's national research institute, driving innovation and development across various sectors. RISE plays a key role in strengthening Sweden's competitiveness and sustainability by providing expertise in materials, processes, digitalization, and sustainable energy.

IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute

IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute is an independent research institute that conducts research and consultancy assignments on environmental and sustainability issues.

Partner to the event

Change Chemistry

Change Chemistry is a collaboration of more than 125 members that aim to make safer and sustainable chemistry widely available in the marketplace. Their members span diverse industries from leading chemical companies, brand manufacturers, and large retailers to innovative startups.

Mistra SafeChem

This conference is arranged within the Mistra SafeChem programme. Mistra SafeChem is a research programme for green and sustainable chemical industry.

Mistra SafeChem's vision is to enable and promote the expansion of a safe, sustainable, and green chemical industry.

The programme is developed with the twelve principles of green chemistry as a fundament.

The research combines the potential of innovative manufacturing processes, tools for hazard and risk screening, and life cycle assessment with ambitions and opportunities for the development and growth of safe and sustainable chemical industry.

Details

Location: IVA Konferenscenter, Grevturegatan 16, Stockholm.

Date: October 7th, 2025

Time: 8:30 – 17:30 CET

How to get here:

If you’re travelling by subway, the closest station is Östermalmstorg.
If you take the bus, you can get off at the Stureplan or Östermalmstorg stops.

Open event location, Grevturegatan 16, in Google Maps