Baltbārde: Integrating sustainability into the business development strategy enables CleanR Grupa to be a driving force for the circular economy in Latvia

Latvia's leading environmental services group, CleanR Grupa, has published its fourth Consolidated Sustainability Statement for 2025. The non-financial report details progress towards achieving sustainability goals and the contribution of the Group's companies to the country's successful transition to a circular economy.

Starting sustainability reporting at an early stage has enabled the Group to improve data quality, process efficiency, and sustainability management, and to continue developing corporate governance and implementing reporting practices across the Group. The first Group's sustainability strategy cycle concluded in 2025, marking the start of the new 2026-2028 development period. The Group's priorities will continue to be environmental impact mitigation, the promotion of the circular economy, employee well-being, the improvement of customer experience, the strengthening of public environmental awareness, and the development of a responsible corporate culture.

During the reporting year, the Group continued to track and manage its climate impact - both by calculating its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and by calculating avoided emissions. It is particularly noteworthy that, compared with the previous year, the Group's GHG emission intensity relative to revenue improved significantly - by 10% - despite the expansion of the Group's core business operations. At the same time, it has been estimated that, thanks to the Group's operations - specifically, sorting waste and sending it for reuse or recycling rather than disposing of it in landfills - 260,005 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions were avoided in 2025. Accordingly, the Group's companies prevented 207% more emissions than they generated, an improvement of 22 percentage points over the previous year.

Overall, in pursuit of more sustainable operations, the Group's investments increased by 19% to 13.2 million euros, while the share of environmentally sustainable capital investments within the Group reached 49%.

"Sustainability is not a separate initiative for us; it is an integral part of our business development. In recent years, we have significantly strengthened the Group's ability not only to reduce its environmental impact but also to make a measurable and positive contribution to Latvia's circular economy and environmental goals," notes Agita Baltbārde, a member of the CleanR Grupa Management Board.

In 2025, the Group's companies managed more than 730,000 tonnes of various types of waste, with only 4% sent to landfill. The "Nomales" construction and demolition waste (CDW) sorting and recycling center, operated by the CDW management company CleanR Verso, achieved particularly high results, with 99% of waste sorted and recycled, and the material returned to the economy for circular reuse. "This is tangible proof of the CleanR Grupa's commitment to being a leader in the circular economy in Latvia. Currently, nearly all the waste and construction debris we manage is returned to circulation as resources to produce new materials, which is the foundation for implementing a circular economy," says Baltbārde.

In 2025, vehicle fleet modernization continued: 65% of the Group's specialized vehicles are low-emission (EURO VI), with 13% running on compressed natural gas (CNG). Additionally, 17% of passenger cars are electric. Overall, 66% of the Group's companies' specialized vehicle fleet comprises clean, low-emission vehicles, aligning with Latvian cities' green public procurement efforts and their growing emphasis on clean transportation standards.

"One of our goals for reducing our environmental impact is the proportion of 'green' or sustainable investments we make, which we currently implement and plan to maintain at a minimum of 40% of all capital investments in the future. Given the scale of CleanR Grupa's business expansion, this is a significant commitment that translates into a more environmentally friendly vehicle fleet in urban areas, climate-friendly infrastructure - such as further development of the underground waste container network - and strengthened waste recycling capacity. Both - targeted investments and strategic waste management, which reduces landfill disposal - allow us to move toward climate-neutral operations - by avoiding more than three times the greenhouse gas emissions we generate, which is also a significant contribution to the implementation of the country's climate neutrality plan," Baltbārde continues.

The Group's underground container infrastructure in Rīga and Jūrmala also significantly supports more efficient resource use. Due to their large capacity, the frequency of container emptying on the relevant routes has decreased by approximately 33% compared to standard containers, thereby reducing traffic volume and emissions.

The Group has also continued to place strong emphasis on public education. In 2025, environmental education activities, information campaigns, and events reached more than 6.2 million people. These results were achieved thanks to the regional waste collection campaign "Tīrmāja," the nationwide waste sorting campaign for children and youth "Tīrai Latvijai" - organized by the Group`s EPR company Zaļā josta for nearly 20 years - as well as the environmental education pop-up site in Cēsis - "ŠŪNA," which will also be part of the European Capital of Culture events in Liepāja in 2027. In collaboration with the Riga Energy Agency, the "Latvian Circular Economy Forum" was organized, while, in partnership with Junior Achievement Latvia, training for young leaders continued alongside other environmental education and circular-economy initiatives.

At the same time, the Group continued to actively engage in developing industry regulation and circular economy policy at the European level. In 2025, CleanR Grupa joined two international associations for producer responsibility systems - the Textile PRO Forum and the PRO Circularity Alliance - whose goals are to coordinate industry positions and represent the interests of circular-economy companies in European Union policymaking.

The customer experience has also remained highly satisfactory; the Group's Net Promoter Score reached 47%, which, given the Group's business diversity and broad customer base, is considered a stable and strong result.

The high quality of governance and transparency at CleanR Grupa is also evidenced by the Excellence rating awarded to the Group's 2024 Consolidated Sustainability Report in the international sustainability reporting transparency assessment, the "ESG Transparency Awards 2025".

"Latvia's transition to a circular economy and sustainable development is not possible without modern environmental infrastructure, responsible business practices, and public engagement. Today, CleanR Grupa is one of the companies laying the foundation for this change: from recycling waste and returning resources to the economy to investing in modern technologies, reducing emissions, and raising public environmental awareness. We see that circularity is no longer an alternative; it is becoming a prerequisite not only for environmental quality but for the country's competitiveness," concludes Agita Baltbārde.

The AS "CleanR Grupa" Consolidated Sustainability Statement for 2025 is available at https://cleanrgrupa.lv/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Ilgtspejas_zinojums_2025_ENG.pdf

About CleanR Grupa:

AS CleanR Grupa operates the leading companies in Latvia's environmental services sector. The Group includes municipal waste management companies CleanR, Ķilupe, and Vides pakalpojumu grupa, the industrial, construction, and demolition waste management company CleanR Verso, the hazardous and medical waste management company Lautus, the waste recycling company CleanR Industry, the producer responsibility system company Zaļā josta, the commercial premises cleaning company Vizii, the urban environment service company Vizii Urban, and the regional environment service companies KOM-Auto and Tranzīts L.

The Group's companies serve more than half a million Latvian residents daily. The company is characterized by the highest level of digitalization in the environmental services sector, high customer service standards, and leadership in implementing the core principles of sustainability and the circular economy. AS CleanR Grupa is a 100% Latvian capital company, with Guntars Kokorevičs as its Founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board.