【CFA Japan Seminar Announcement】
Finland: Superpower in Circular Economy Solutions – Tackling Plastic Waste with Japan
Date: September 8 (Mon), 2025 19:00-20:30
Event Format: Hybrid style (in-person/Zoom)
Venue: Room1, FINE TOKYO, 5th Floor, South Tower, Otemachi Financial City, 1-9-7 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
http://www.fine-tokyo.com/en/access/
(For those who take the subways to come: From Tokyo Metro Otemachi Station, please use the passageway directly connecting to the first basement floor of the building. Then take the South Elevator from the first basement floor or the first floor to the fifth floor.
For those who come from the surface street: Please enter the SouthTower, Otemachi Financial City from FINE TOKYO Entrance that is across the street of Sankei Building. Then take the South Elevator from the first floor to the fifth floor.)
Language: English
Topics: Economics (PL credit eligible)
Speaker: Suvi Sundquist (Head of Region Northeast Asia at Business Finland)
Marko Palonen (Senior Manager of R&D, Valmet Technologies, Energy & Circularity)
Piia Helminen (Sales Director, Wipak Singapore Branch Office)
Fee: (The participation fee is the same for both on-site attendance and online Zoom participation.)
CFA Society Japan Member (Regular/Affiliate/Associate/Professional member), CFA Institute Member of other societies: Free
CFA Program Candidate: 2,000yen
Non-member: 3,000yen
PL Credit: 1.5
(※This is a Global Passport accredited event.)
Outline
Finland is entering a long-term strategic collaboration with partners in Japan, to develop scalable, high-impact solutions that address one of the world’s most pressing environmental and economic challenges: plastic waste. The partnership is designed to significantly reduce reliance on incineration by increasing the share of plastic waste converted into high value-added recycled products.
Mr Marko Palonen from Valmet Technologies and Ms Piia Helminen from Wipak come to present how some of the ground-breaking innovative solutions have been developed to solve the problem and how they currently work with the Japanese partners.
Ms Suvi Sundquist, Region Head for Japan at Business Finland will complete the picture highlighting the factors which made Finland into a leader in Circular Economy solutions – and what are the other technologies which are of interest for the Japanese companies.
This initiative presents several key innovation areas, including:
・How to build commercially viable chemical recycling facilities
・What kind of automated and digitalized sorting and separation systems are needed
・How smart, digitally watermarked products are designed for full recyclability
・What kind of policies and legislative frameworks are needed to accelerate market adoption
Speaker Bio
Suvi Sundquist, Head of Region Northeast Asia at Business Finland
She graduated from Helsinki University of Technology (Aalto University) majoring in Chemical Engineering.
An accomplished leader with a strongpeople-first approach, she specializes in building and guiding expert teams to achieve excellence. Currently serving as a Regional Director North East Asia at Business Finland, I oversee Finland’s Trade Centers in Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei.
Previously, she played key roles in driving global growth for Finnish SMEs as Country Director in Seoul and managed strategic government innovation programs in emerging sectors like Smart Cities and Learning Solutions based in Helsinki. Her earlier career includes leading R&D teams at Kemira, a major Finnish chemical company, advancing innovations from lab to production for global industries.
Proactive, organized, and passionate about fostering growth, She is dedicated to enabling innovation and impactful international partnerships.
Marko Palonen, Senior Manager of R&D, Valmet Technologies, Energy & Circularity
Marko Palonen is a seasoned R&D leader with over two decades of experience in energy technology and industrial innovation. Currently serving as Senior Manager, R&D at Valmet Technologies Energy & Circularity business unit he has played a pivotal role in shaping the unit’s technology strategy, research and development portfolio, driving strategic initiatives and fostering experimental research.
Marko holds a Master of Science in Energy Technology from Lappeenranta University of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Measurement Technologies from Mikkeli Polytechnic. His career spans different roles in R&D and business development across leading organizations including Valmet, Metso Power, Kvaerner Power, Dekati and Tampere University of Technology.
With a strong foundation in thermal and fluid engineering, Marko has contributed to several new technologies, patents, and patent applications, reflecting his commitment to advancing industrial innovations.
Piia Helminen, Sales Director, Wipak Singapore Branch Office
Piia Helminen is a passionate Sales Director with 20+ years of working experience in several countries across Europe and Asia. She has worked various sales leadership roles for food and medical industries.
Currently she is a Sales Director at Wipak which is a global supplier of packaging solutions for food products, medical instruments, and devices.
The past 10 years she has spent in Asia driving the change from conventional plastic to sustainable packaging solutions which combines both personal passion and corporate strategy.
She held a Bachelor of Business Administration and a dual executive-MBA from two leading European Universities (ESADE Business School and Aalto University).
Registration
If you wish to attend this webinar, please register via website.
*This is a hybrid event (in-person/online), so please select your preferred method of participation (in-person/online).
https://cvent.me/ZyqwVa