People of DeLaval: How Maria Collin is driving change in the dairy industry

“The dairy industry is complex, making sustainability work in this field exciting and rewarding.” 

Maria Collin, Head of Group Sustainability at DeLaval, is committed to driving real change. She works across the business to make sustainability an integrated part of every level—navigating regulations, reducing environmental impact, strengthening social and human rights efforts, and ensuring we're building long-term resilience across operations and supply chains.

At DeLaval, Maria ensures we're not only lowering environmental impact but also improving farmers' profitability. For her, sustainability and business success aren’t opposing forces—they’re two sides of the same coin. And that’s exactly what makes her job so rewarding.

“Farming depends on a healthy planet. It’s about making sure farmers have land for their cows, the resources to feed them, and the profitability to sustain their businesses, create jobs, and provide good working conditions.

 “I really want to debunk the myth that sustainability and profitability don’t mix. Sustainability isn’t just about reducing footprints—it’s about driving profit for farmers too. Efficiency and sustainability go hand in hand. When we help farmers reduce waste, optimise resources, and improve animal welfare, we’re also helping them cut costs and increase yields.”

Maria, centre, pictured with DeLaval colleagues: Anna-Pia Järnfors SVP Corporate Communications & Sustainability, and Maja Bergström, VP Strategic Partnerships, Acquisitions & Divestments, Legal Affairs. Visiting the Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana, USA.

Her sustainability journey

Her passion for sustainability—including environmental impact, as well as social justice—was evident even as a teenager. At just 15, she worked in a café and a fast-food chain to fund her travels and photography, which opened her eyes to the environmental and social challenges faced by communities around the world. "This early exposure to global issues sparked a lifelong commitment to making a positive impact," she reflects. "That’s when I began donating part of my small salary to WWF and the Red Cross." 

Her love of travel and connecting with people eventually led her to study journalism. During her studies, she was a trainee at Sveriges Radio in Stockholm in 2004, diving straight into reporting. Her work ranged from morning news to sports coverage, but it was the hands-on experiences that truly stood out. She scaled climbing walls in Stockholm to report on the sport’s growing popularity and soared through the winter skies on a tandem paraglider. However, it wasn’t until she interviewed individuals who had helped tsunami victims in Thailand after the 2004 disaster that her perspective on her work began to shift. That powerful experience ignited her desire to focus on something more impactful—something that could make a real, lasting difference. 

Motivated to create lasting change, she transitioned into a product manager role at a Swedish retailer, where she discovered the world of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), now widely known as sustainability. "I felt like I had come home and immediately knew what I wanted to do," Maria recalls. She quickly got to work, launching sustainability projects, conducting social audits in China and Taiwan, reducing packaging, sourcing recycled materials, and even starting a fair-trade products initiative. 

Her journey then took her to Canada, where she took study leave to focus on sustainability. She later worked in Bolivia with an NGO through the Canadian CIDA-sponsored Uniterra programme, as advisor and held training sessions in Spanish to facilitate large groups of people, as well as developing content for websites to educate on matters related to fair trade, development of products, negotiations and marketing. 

Maria holding a seminar in Tarija, Bolivia, for members of the Fair Trade organisation there.

This was followed by a position in Italy, where Maria led a responsible sourcing programme for a global company. She managed a team spread throughout the EMEA region, handling areas such as social and human rights, environmental impact, conflict minerals, and occupational health and safety. She was also part of driving the creation of sustainability reports and policies that made a measurable difference to the business.

Maria’s latest role before DeLaval was at a major global tech company, where she led a team in northwest Europe and worked closely with the global sustainable impact team to launch initiatives that made a real difference at scale. 

In total, she has lived in seven countries around the globe, continuously learning and driving tangible progress wherever she goes. For Maria, it’s all about creating change that lasts—change that matters. Since 2022, she has also been a member of the sustainability committee at ICC Sweden and vice chair for TechSweden Sustainability Committee (until she started at DeLaval that are members of another organisation). 

A typical day at work

In her current role at DeLaval, Maria’s days are highly varied, involving collaboration with multiple departments and stakeholders to address sustainability challenges and opportunities—especially because sustainability is such a broad field. It spans over many areas within DeLaval, including Product Management and Development, Supply Chain, Finance, Communication, Clusters, and Legal. With numerous ongoing activities and intense regulatory demands, adaptability is key. "Like many, I start with a plan, but it often changes throughout the day," she shares. “For example, today, an entire directive changed. Instead of proceeding with the planned activities with consultants and internal teams, I had to immediately review the plan and determine whether we needed to amend it straight away. I work with both internal and external stakeholders, and it’s important for me to understand not only the challenges and opportunities within our own operations but, most importantly, those of our customers.” 

Maria rock climbing at Railay beach in Thailand.

What drives Maria? 

When asked what she admires most about her role and DeLaval as a company, Maria reflects: "I am driven by the idea of doing my part for a sustainable society. I want to contribute as much as I can, and my role at DeLaval gives me the opportunity to do just that. I am incredibly impressed by the professionalism, dedication, and caring attitude of the people at DeLaval. The people make the company," she adds. 

For those considering a career in sustainability, Maria offers this advice: "Focus on one area and become a subject matter expert before expanding to other areas. The dairy industry is complex, making sustainability work in this field is incredibly exciting and rewarding." 

Maria enjoys a wide variety of outdoor hobbies - from sailing to ice climbing!

Life outside of work

When she isn’t busy helping DeLaval and farmers increasing their sustainability efforts, Maria spends time with her family in nature, skiing, ice skating, kayaking, and sailing. Maria is also passionate about cooking and reading and closely follows the World Cup alpine skiing and ATP tennis tournaments. "I am a dedicated backcountry skier, (former) climber, and alpinist. My highest mountain climbed is 6,432 metres—Illimani in Bolivia," she says.

Ice climbing. And climbing. Here she is pictured with friends at basecamp - 5500 metres.

Are you interested in a career at DeLaval? Visit our Careers Page to see our available openings: Careers - DeLaval