Toespraak van Koningin Máxima bij de Global Summit van het Consumer Goods Forum, Amsterdam

Toespraak | 11-06-2025

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to see you all here in Amsterdam, our capital that is celebrating its 750^th anniversary this year. We all know this city for its historic significance as a global trading hub for consumer goods. Ships from Amsterdam sailed the seven seas and the city was a base for storing, processing and selling raw materials and goods from the north, south, east and west.

So you have definitely come to the right place for this Global Summit of the international Consumer Goods Forum!

We are not, however, here to talk about the past, as interesting as it may be, but about the future. A future that is never certain, especially today.

Your success will depend on many factors. One of the most important is: people. The welfare of your colleagues is paramount.

According to Morgan Stanley, 58% of employees say that their greatest source of stress is of financial nature. Money worries affect concentration and decision-making skills, with an impact similar to a loss of 13 IQ points!

In the U.S., employees with financial stress lose an average of 7 hours per week, costing employers 183 billion dollars every year in loss of productivity.

So, financial health is extremely relevant. For you it means: employees who are more focused, more creative and more productive. For individuals it means: being able to smoothly manage their financial obligations and having confidence in their financial future. For society it means: financial stability and opportunities for sustainable growth.

This is why in the Netherlands we established the National Coalition for Financial Health, a partnership of more than fifty companies and organizations aiming to improve the financial health of their employees and their customers. The main goal of this coalition is to reduce financially vulnerable or struggling households by half in 2030.

I hope that when you think about the future of your company, you will also think about the financial health of your workforce. Much can be done by learning from each other, for instance how to detect early signs of financial problems or how to help people make financially sound decisions. Joining forces always helps!J

Just as it makes sense to join forces in other areas.  Be it: food, plastics, logistics, etc.

In 2020 the Consumer Goods Forum established its own Coalition of Action on Food Waste. We are all well aware of the huge potential for improvement, since a massive 40% of all food grown is actually being wasted. This is a staggering 2.5 billion tonnes every year. To put this into perspective: you would need the ground surface of India and Argentina combined to produce that amount of wasted food!

In terms of cost, we are looking at 1 trillion dollars of food that is being lost or wasted. This comes close to the equivalent of the total size of the Dutch or Turkish economy!

Climate change is making food production even harder and more expensive, particularly crops like cocoa and coffee. So, it is fundamental to address this. But how do we do this? We could, for example, change our attitude towards fruit and vegetables which are not picture perfect.

Here in the Netherlands, I came across a young company called InstockMarket. Its mission is to rescue products that would otherwise go to waste, such as fruit and vegetables with minor imperfections.

The company co-operates with over 200 farmers and traders. Each morning surplus food arrives at the Food Rescue Center, where they inspect everything, repack the products and prepare them for customers in the restaurant- and catering sector. These products are good quality and people won’t even notice that the avocados and carrots they consume are not perfect in shape.

We are not only just talking about money that is wasted here, but also about precious natural resources. Worldwide, 70% of fresh water resources is being used for agriculture. So we could solve the world water problem if we eliminate the food waste. That is how simple it is.

We have to take the whole supply chain into account, starting with the farmers. A quarter of food loss occurs during production and processing. I visited farmers, I spoke with them. And I know: they are eager to tackle this problem. But in order to do so, they need to have access to markets, finance, knowledge and technology.

Often they have to rethink the way they actually produce the food, which can be quite a challenge for a farmer. Making these long-term commitments and alterations can only be achieved by a fair pay and long-term commitment from the buyers.

Here again, it’s you who can make a difference.

And then it’s packaging. Packaging protects and preserves food. But badly designed packaging can do more harm than good.

In 2020, more than 40 members of your Forum created the Plastic Waste Coalition. Many of them are represented here today.

Together, you cover 10% of global plastic use, so I applaud your goal to make circularity the new standard. Less plastic, better plastic and smarter systems.

In recent years, during working visits in the Netherlands, I have come across many inspiring examples of companies leading the way towards circular solutions. Companies such as Avantium, a producer of polymer materials.

Nine months ago, I opened their new plant, the world’s first commercial plant converting plant-based sugars into sustainable, fossil-free plastic.

It took Avantium and its partners almost two decades to develop and test the technology before it could be launched commercially. But ultimately, their efforts paid off.

Breakthroughs such as these are essential in the transition to a circular economy, but they can only be successful in the longer term when retailers and consumer goods producers actively work together. Retailers offering long-term certainty to bioplastic producers are as important as the producers themselves!

Initiatives such as the Plastic Waste Coalition are vital to the cause. I welcome your commitment and everything you can do to speed up the transition.

You know your supply chain. You know your consumers, your products and your markets. You have the knowledge and the ability to create an economic and financial ecosystem which supports sustainable choices and solutions.

As members of the Consumer Goods Forum, you are in a unique position to influence responsible business practice around the world. Together, you have the capacity to make an immense difference.

It will not be ‘business as usual’. It will take determination, creativity and entrepreneurship to reach these goals. But we all know why this is so important. It’s about nothing less than a healthy future for your companies, your workforce, your suppliers, your customers and – last but certainly not least - our planet.

I wish you all every success in your endeavours!

Thank you.