Business Sweden and the Embassy of Sweden in Japan are pleased to announce the fourth annual occurrence of the Sweden-Japan Sustainability Summit, which this year will be taking place in the afternoon of the 3rd of December 2024. The Sustainability Summit is the highlight of the yearly Pioneer the possible platform, gathering Swedish and Japanese stakeholders to jointly address societal challenges.

This year, we will have the pleasure to welcome a ministerial and high-level business delegation from Sweden to attend the summit in Tokyo. Attendees to this year’s event will have the chance to hear directly from several leaders from the Swedish government as well as from some of Sweden and Japan’s largest companies on how they are working together to tackle the sustainability challenge.

The summit will be focused around the themes of circularity, net-zero healthcare, smart and energy-efficient manufacturing, and next-generation electromobility. There will be inspirational and informative keynote presentations, panels, and discussions on the above topics. A major part of the summit will also be dedicated to cross-sectoral break-out sessions aimed at finding concrete solutions to common challenges.

The summit will be followed by a high-level networking reception starting from 19:00.

Attendance to the sustainability summit is by invitation only.

Programme

Welcome

15.00 Introduction, By Mona Neuhauss, MC

15.04 Greeting, By Takafumi Horii, President at Astra Zeneca Japan

15.05 Swedish Opening Keynote, By H.E. Mr. Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden

15.15 Japanese Opening Statement, By Yuichiro Koga, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and State Minister of the Cabinet Office

Sweden and Japan's approach to decarbonization - potential for collaboration and learning

15.30 Presentation - The urgency of the climate crisis, By Dr. Seita Emori, Professor at the Institute for Future Initiatives at the University of Tokyo

15.40 Presentation – How Japan’s largest company approaches decarbonization, By Yumi Otsuka, Chief Sustainability Officer at Toyota Motor Corp.

15.50 Moderated discussion - The model for sustainable development

• Ebba Busch, Minister for Energy, Business and Industry
• Jacob Wallenberg, Chairman, Confederation of Swedish Enterprise
• Koji Hachiyama, Deputy Director-General for Trade Policy, METI
• Hiromi Yamaji, CEO, Japan Exchange Group
• Moderator: Mr. Joakim Abeleen, Vice President EAPAC, Business Sweden

16.15 Fika introduction and practicalities, By Mona Neuhauss, MC

16.20 Fika Group Discussion Break

The Pioneer the possible platform - Jointly tackling challenges in circularity, net-zero healthcare and green energy

16.45 Launch of Pioneer the possible White Paper – Introduction to Pioneer the possible, By Carsten Grönblad, Trade Commissioner of Sweden to Japan

16:50 Presentation – Improving circularity for packaging materials, By Yuko Ohmori, Sustainability Director, Nihon Tetra Pak K.K. Together with Togo Uchida, Executive Director, ICLEI Japan

17.05 Presentation – Moving towards a net-zero healthcare system, By Yuko Kidoguchi, VP Corporate Affairs, AstraZeneca Japan

17.20 Presentation - Transitioning towards a renewable energy system, By Niklas Persson, EVP MD Grid integration, Hitachi Energy

17.25 Pitch session - Driving decarbonization through innovation; Elevator pitches, By Martin Edlund, CEO of Minesto Energy and Kazuya Kawasaki, CEO of Synflux

17.40 Fika Group Discussion Break 2

Wrapping up

18.05 Reporting back from breakout discussions, By Mona Neuhauss, MC

18.10 Closing Remarks, By Jan Larsson, President and CEO of Business Sweden

18.25 Closing Practicalities, By Mona Neuhauss, MC

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18.30 Transportation by bus

19.00 Reception