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, Forskningssekreterare Giftfri Miljö, 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)
TBA
14:15 - 14:45
Coffee break
14:45 - 16:00
Panel discussion: Future-Proofing Industry through SSbD: Navigating Policy, Scaling Innovation and Impactful Collaboration
Marcus Wangel, Environmental Policy, Svenskt Näringsliv/Confedereation of Swedish Enterprise
Daniel Paska, Director Sustainability Policy, Ericsson
Irene Bramke, Associate Director Environmental Risk Assessment, Astra Zeneca
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.
