2022, June 15
Heads of Latvian companies operating in different industries have established the Business Sustainability Council in order to exchange knowledge, deepen the understanding of sustainability and jointly create more sustainable business environment in Latvia. Members of the Business Sustainability Council are united in their support for 2050 global climate neutrality efforts, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the desire to foster the development of sustainable business culture in Latvia.
Members of the Council have signed an agreement, which includes a commitment to set clear sustainability goals and courses of action at their companies. For example, accelerating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, investing in circular economy, energy efficiency and other environmental and climate protection measures, and investing resources in understanding and assessing the full environmental and climate impact of the companies’ products or services and reporting on their progress in preventing climate change and mitigating its effects on the environment by regularly reviewing their objectives, while avoiding green deception.
Following Swedbank’s proposal, the Business Sustainability Council was established by 13 companies – Swedbank, Latvijas Finieris, Latvijas Dzelzceļš, LMT, ARS, Madara Cosmetics, Valmiermuiža, Dobeles Dzirnavnieks, cooperative VAKS, peat extraction and processing company Laflora, AJ Power, Augstsprieguma Tīkls, SCHWENK Latvia.
Members of the Council also agreed to exchange ideas and experiences, to promote an objective, reasoned and respectful discussion on sustainability matters, seeking the optimal scenario for Latvia’s path to sustainable development, to work on joint projects and initiatives in the field of sustainability that would foster systemic changes. In the long term, the members also intend to define common quantitative targets in the environmental, social and governance fields.
“We are aware that we have a key role to play in addressing the challenges of climate change and sustainability in Latvia in order to further reduce our impact on the environment. We are committed to monitoring and continuing to reduce the environmental impact of our operations in the long term, promoting the transition to sustainable growth by implementing the principles of circular economy and offering efficient low-carbon and renewable energy resources to our customers.
Companies that timely recognize the importance of sustainability will be able to build a business that will be resilient and develop in the long run. Sustainable business will bring profits and ensure better access to finance, while improving social and environmental conditions. Sustainability is already becoming an essential element not only in the development strategies of companies, but also a determining factor in the choice of customers and cooperation partners,” comments Roberts Samtiņš, the CEO of AJ Power group.
The company continues to implement global trends and good practices in Latvia in order to guide Latvian businessmen towards more sustainable operating principles and provide them new opportunities to get involved in the circular economy. AJ Power plans to become a circular economy-based group of companies by 2030, aiming for 100% climate neutrality, which includes both energy efficiency and optimization measures within companies as well as services provided by the companies of the group.
At the end of 2021, AJ Power became the first energy company in Latvia to perform verified CO2 footprint calculations and to cancel the group’s emissions in 2020. Potential sources of emissions were identified at AJ Power group of companies in order to pinpoint the group’s direct emissions caused by the company’s operations.
