In January 2025, the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development (VARAM) of Latvia organized the panel discussion “Sustainability and artificial intelligence: synergy or challenge?”.
During the seminar experts discussed how the public sector and businesses can use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to promote sustainable development and how digital tools can assist not only with implementing the green transition but also with daily tasks in both the private and public sectors. Participants were actively involved in the discussions, arguing their views from the perspective of their field. The result was a series of insights into how AI and sustainability interact with each other.
VARAM Deputy State Secretary for Digital Transformation Gatis Ozols: “The public sector is researching and trying to find ways to become more sustainable with the help of investments – for example, by gradually evolving data centers to be greener. VARAM, together with partners, is working on a project that will help companies take their first steps toward sustainability and understand which sustainability aspects and standards are relevant to them. Not all of these apply to every company, and it is crucial to help them, especially SMEs, understand where to begin and what kind of information they need to gather.”
The discussions concluded with a summary of the experts' thoughts:
- What are the practical applications of AI in the sustainability sector? We can see and analyze where we are spending energy, identify what data is available, analyze it, and aggregate it using various AI tools.
- AI helps optimize business operations, for example, by replacing monotonous tasks and in employee training, saving human resources and redirecting them to other tasks, thereby focusing on resource conservation.
- To begin the path towards sustainability, several key questions must be asked: What, How, When? It is necessary to assess which AI tools best meet the specific needs, as they too require careful selection. One AI tool cannot solve all problems.
- Mutual communication is the key to shared development and creating a path forward.
- AI tools can help standardize the various interpretations of sustainability terms.
Various industry professionals and experts from the sustainability field, public and private sectors, academia, and the AI association participated in the discussion:
- Agnese Alksne-Bensone, CSR Latvia
- Aija Timofejeva, The Ministry of Climate and Energy
- Arvils Kupris, Latvian Association of Artificial Intelligence
- Gatis Ozols, The Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development (VARAM)
- Laila Līduma, The Electronic Communications Office of Latvia
- Modris Greitāns, The Institute of Electronics and Computer Sciences (EDI)
The event was moderated by Agate Ambulte.
The panel discussion was opened by Gatis Romanovskis, the director of Hansab's company, who explained current AI trends, how to link them to sustainable development, and what to expect in the near future.
The discussion is available on VARAM Latvia’s YouTube account and is conducted in Latvian: https://youtu.be/slYc6maGuf0?feature=shared
Latest information about the project:
SusTool (Sustainability reporting tool) project (2023-2025) is financed by Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme 2021-2027, 1 Priority Innovative societies, 1.2 Objective Responsive Public services and it contributes to EUSBSR PA Innovation Action.
Project partners include the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications as the lead partner from Estonia, and as partners: the Ministry of Finance, Zero Waste Estonia and ITL from Estonia; VARAM and LIKTA from Latvia; DIMECC LTD from Finland, INFOBALT from Lithuania and several associated partners from the mentioned countries, as well as Poland. The project will conclude on December 31, 2025.
Project manager
Santa Bileskalne
Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia
+37167026551
santa.bileskalne@varam.gov.lv