Identifying sustainability trends through foresight in Riga

Training event “Consumer cleantech – new opportunities for sustainable business  and society?”  7th of November, 2019 at University of Latvia Microsoft Innovation center gathered together representatives and cleantech field enthusiasts from a wide range of organizations such as universities, governmental institutions, start-ups and large companies. Christopher Rowley from Demos Helsinki led a lecture and a workshop about foresight methods and megatrends, and how they can be used to identify new business models. The organizer of the event Sandra Strole from the University of Latvia shares here learnings from the event.

What did you think was interesting in the training from Latvian perspective?

“The topics of future studies and foresight methods were quite new for most participants of the training event. Especially during group work it was interesting to evaluate and discuss the situation in Latvia by now and 2030. Considerations around definitions of trends, megatrends and tensions created new perspectives for thinking of business opportunities in the future such as more digital services, re- and up-cycling services, more global thinking and focus on bigger markets.”

What was your main learning? What do you think was useful for participants?

“One of the main learnings was that the megatrends like climate and demographic change and globalization create new markets and new types of businesses which should be more sustainable. Many opportunities are arising also in the fields of food and housing, and also Latvian companies are striving for larger markets like the EU and Asia. It was useful to raise awareness about differences between the terms cleantech and consumer cleantech in the frame of the SmartUp Accelerator cooperation network.”

What are you planning to do now, moving forward after the training?

“Keeping in contact with the participants, informing and involving them in SmartUp Accelerator’s initiatives and events also in the future.”