CleanR Grupa partners up with 15 Latvian schools to seek environmental solutions
CleanR Grupa, in cooperation with Junior Achievement Latvia’s (JAL) Leadership School, calls on the youth to generate ideas for a zero-waste culture and reduction of climate impact by increasing the use of digital solutions over on-site activities, informs Agita Baltbārde, the Group’s Chief Officer for Corporate Affairs and Sustainability.
CleanR Grupa’s Founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board Guntars Kokorevičs initiated the idea of the JAL Leadership School in 2019. The school’s programme is designed for young people aged 16-20 to develop personality and foster growth, with an aim to raise a new generation of leaders that will increase Latvia’s competitiveness. In 2023, the JAL mentor and coach team was joined by Māris Mančinskis, the Group’s Supervisory Board`s Member.
“Leadership implies the ability to take decisions that will shape the future, including preserving the planet for future generations, as that demonstrates thinking long-term. It is of great importance for CleanR Grupa as an environmental services industry leader to contribute to Latvia’s sustainability. We promote our country’s sustainability through high-quality youth education delivered through the Leadership School, which helps raise environmental awareness among young Latvians and motivates them to look for efficient solutions,” explains Kokorevičs.
The youth are expected to submit their ideas on how to tackle environmental challenges and foster the circular economy by August this year. The most successful solutions might find their way into the Group’s annual environmental education campaign in Latvia.
“Every year, Junior Achievement Latvia’s Leadership School brings together the most motivated, ambitious, and knowledgeable youth from all over Latvia. It is a powerful force with great potential not only to seek creative solutions to the existing challenges, but also to put them into practice,” explains Head of Junior Achievement Latvia Jānis Krievāns.
The challenges put before the youth have been chosen carefully. The need to pursue a zero-waste culture originates from the fact that, in spite of the increase in the amount of sorted and recycled waste in recent years, the total amount of waste generated has not substantially decreased. The European Union has set an aim which by 2035 requires the amount of municipal waste landfilled be reduced to 10%; in Latvia the figure currently hovers around 50%.
“The way we may pursue the aim set by the EU is not only by recycling waste but also by reducing the amount of waste we generate. Currently, the largest share of the total waste generated includes textile items, which account for 14% of all waste, and biologically degradable waste, including food waste, which accounts for 40% of all waste,” tells Baltbārde.
CleanR, the Group’s household waste management company, has already installed 60 textile containers in Latvia, and by the end of 2023, is planning to install at least a hundred more. At the same time, the number of bio-waste containers has also increased significantly over the past year.
By choosing digital solutions for certain daily activities over on-site visits might significantly reduce our carbon footprint, thus decreasing our impact on the environment caused by these activities.
“We call on the youth to encourage and help our seniors to use digital tools. According to the national statistics site, 91% of Latvian households have access to the Internet, which is a very encouraging figure, and lays the groundwork for a change in habits among the elderly. Young people can lead the way and help their older family members to improve their digital skills and help the environment at the same time,” adds Baltbārde.
The JAL 2023 Leadership Programme has been joined by 15 Latvian schools: Madona State Gymnasium, Riga Hanza Secondary School, Riga State Gymnasium No 1, Tukums Rainis State Gymnasium, Riga State Classical Gymnasium, Daugavpils State Gymnasium, Riga State Gymnasium No 2, Jelgava Secondary School No 4, Riga French Lyceum, Mārupe State Gymnasium, Riga Technical College, Ogre Technical College, Riga Teika Secondary School, Jelgava State Gymnasium, and Friendly Appeal Liepāja Secondary School No 5.
About AS CleanR Grupa
CleanR Grupa operates the leading companies in the environmental services sector in Latvia. CleanR Grupa includes SIA CleanR, a household waste management company, SIA CleanR Verso, an industrial waste management company, SIA Zaļā josta, an extended producer responsibility system provider, and environmental services companies: SIA Vizii, a cleaning company, SIA Vizii Urban, an urban environment management business, and SIA Vizii Domus, a house management brand.
CleanR Grupa looks after more than 50 thousand customers all over the country, serving half a million Latvian people daily. The Group offers highly digitized environmental services, provides high-quality customer care, and demonstrates leadership in the pursuit of sustainability and climate neutrality goals.
For further information, please contact:
Zane Auziņa
Head of Public Relations at CleanR Grupa
E-mail: [email protected]
Mobile: +371 26119423
