GeSI Contributes to EU–Japan Dialogue on Digital Innovation and Competitiveness

The Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative was pleased to participate in the EU–Japan Business Round Table (BRT) 2026, held in Brussels on 16 April, contributing to a high-level discussion on the future of digital innovation, mobility, and global competitiveness.

From left to right: Ricardo Rio, Head of EMEA and Strategic Partnerships; Luís Neves, CEO, GeSI

EU-Japan Roundtable

GeSI would like to thank the EU–Japan Business Round Table for the invitation and for convening such a timely and relevant dialogue.

Represented by CEO Luís Neves and Ricardo Rio, Head of EMEA and Strategic Partnerships, GeSI engaged in discussions that reflect a shared priority: ensuring that digital transformation delivers tangible outcomes for competitiveness, resilience, and long-term economic performance.

In its intervention, GeSI welcomed the BRT’s forward-looking recommendations, which pragmatically link decarbonisation, competitiveness, resilience, and innovation—highlighting the need for integrated, system-level approaches.

GeSI also recalled its role as a cross-industry initiative focused on the enabling role of digital technologies, with a mission to develop and scale solutions that address society’s most pressing challenges.

The recommendations strongly resonate with GeSI’s view that digital technologies can accelerate:

Climate action and resource efficiency

Resilient infrastructure and supply chains

Data-driven decision-making across sectors

GeSI particularly welcomed the emphasis on trusted and interoperable data spaces, underlining that credible sustainability data is essential to scale circularity, supply-chain transparency, and cross-border cooperation.

The organisation also supported the call to deploy AI and digital technologies to improve energy systems, urban management, and optimisation—while ensuring that the energy and environmental footprint of AI is responsibly managed.

GeSI further highlighted the role of digital tools in enabling:

Smarter, more resilient cities

Improved building efficiency

Stronger and more adaptive infrastructure

Enhanced planning and response to climate risks

In addition, GeSI emphasised the importance of digital traceability, matching platforms, and standardised indicators to make reuse, repair, recycling, and resource efficiency more visible and scalable across value chains.

At a systemic level, GeSI stressed that innovation depends on:

Harmonised standards

Interoperable frameworks

Robust cybersecurity

Responsible governance that avoids fragmentation

Looking ahead, GeSI encouraged the EU and Japan to deepen collaboration with industry to translate policy ambition into deployable solutions, measurable impact, and investment-ready projects.

GeSI stands ready to contribute its expertise, tools, and partnerships to support the EU and Japan in making digital innovation a core driver of sustainable competitiveness.