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On April 15, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce welcomed members and invited guests to the Executive Sustainability Breakfast at the Swedish Ambassador’s Residence in The Hague. This exclusive gathering served as a platform for exchange between business leaders, policymakers, and experts from Sweden and the Netherlands on the pressing topics of sustainable development and environmental innovation.
The Ambassador of Sweden, H.E. Mr. Johannes Oljelund opened the morning with a warm welcome and expressed his appreciation to the Swedish Chamber and the Embassy team for their preparation.
We were happy to welcome Lorenzo can Haelst, Managing Director at Tetra Pak France and Benelux, and keynote speaker Eija Hietavuo, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Tetra Pak, whose presentation marked the company’s 70th anniversary in the Netherlands. Moderated by Anne Korthals Altes, Manager Sustainability at Vattenfall and member of the Chamber’s Sustainability Committee, the session highlighted Tetra Pak’s heritage and ongoing role in shaping the future of food systems.
Keynote speaker Eija Hietavuo, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Tetra Pak, shared how the company continues to be guided by its Swedish roots and founding purpose: to make food safe and available, everywhere. She highlighted the often-overlooked “hidden middle” of agrifood systems—processing, packaging, and distribution—as critical levers for reducing environmental impact and improving food resilience.
Eija presented Tetra Pak’s Sustainability Agenda, structured around Food, People, and Planet, and outlined four focus areas: decarbonising dairy, innovating for new food sources, reducing food waste, and scaling access to safe nutrition. She also announced a new recycling facility launching in 2025 in Limburg, developed in partnership with Yellow Dreams, as part of Tetra Pak’s commitment to circularity.
The session closed with an engaged Q&A and concluding remarks by both the Ambassador and Kerstin Gerlagh, General Manager of the Swedish Chamber, who extended thanks to all contributors and participants.
Lastly, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce for the Netherlands was proud to present the first-ever Swedish Chamber of Commerce Sustainability Scholarship – Powered by Saab to Lotte Nijhof, a Master student at TU Delft and Leiden University, currently pursuing a degree in Industrial Ecology.
The scholarship award of €4,000 will support Lotte’s upcoming research visit to Sweden, where she will conduct fieldwork over the course of two to three months—further strengthening the bridge between Sweden and the Netherlands in the field of sustainable innovation.
We extend our sincere thanks to H.E. Mr. Johannes Oljelund for graciously hosting this occasion, to Eija Hietavuo for her inspiring keynote, to Anne Korthals Altes for moderating the session with clarity and insight, to Jovana Mitrovic, Head of Public Affairs and Government Relations at Tetra Pak, for her support and engagement, to Ashkan Danei, Sales Director at Tetra Pak and Chairperson of the Chamber’s Sustainability Committee, for his continued leadership—and most importantly, to all attendees for their presence, thoughtful contributions, and dedication to driving sustainability forward together.
Photo Credits: Hanne Hansen Photography
The event is a collaboration between:
The Swedish Ambassador’s Residence
Lange Voorhout 28
The Hague
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The Swedish Chamber of Commerce would like to thank all participants for contributing to the success of the Swedish Chamber Patron Dinner on November 22, 2016. We cordially thank H.E. Ambassador of Sweden and Honorary Chairman of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce Mr. Per Holmström for hosting the Patron Dinner 2016 and Mr. Jeroen van der Veer, ING Keynote speaker and Honorary Guest, for sharing his experiences and introducing the Round Table discussions.
