RIYADH: Saudi firms are set to receive a boost in sustainable business practices thanks to an agreement between the Kingdom’s Ministry of Economy and Planning and technology platform Clarity AI. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two entities to help push ahead with the Ministry’s objective, under the National Transformation Program, to encourage data companies to operate in a sustainable manner. According to a statement announcing the MoU, Clarity AI is a sustainability technology platform that uses machine learning and big data to deliver environmental and social insights to investors, organizations, and consumers. Rebeca Minguela, founder and CEO of Clarity AI, said: “Making strides forward in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and sustainability is an important part of Saudi Arabia’s National Transformation Program, and there is a clear commitment to building a business ecosystem which rewards companies and investors with the aim to create value beyond just financial returns. “Bolstering transparency, accountability and reporting rigor is critical to the Kingdom achieving its sustainability goals.” The MoU will see the Saudi government and Clarity AI cooperate in providing environmental and social visions for companies and institutions. The two will also exchange experiences in the use of big data techniques and in activities related to Clarity AI’s competence, tools, and customization capabilities. They will examine ways of cooperation in the field of training Saudi personnel to understand and analyze sustainability data, and participate in events and activities of common interest. The two will also facilitate discussions between companies and government agencies related to sustainability issues. The statement added that as of January 2023, Clarity AI’s platform analyzes more than 50,000 companies, 320,000 funds, 198 countries and 188 local governments, and delivers data and analytics for investing, corporate research, benchmarking, consumer ecommerce and reporting. The focus on data business comes in the wake of the Global AI Summit held in Riyadh in October. The conference, organized by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, hosted up to 30,000 hybrids and in-person attendees and had representatives from more than 90 countries. Speaking to Arab News at the event, Mishari Al-Mishari, the deputy director of SDAIA, said the data industry and AI will contribute billions to the national gross domestic product. “Data is the new oil, and that’s our perception and belief of how much we could make out of data,” Al-Mishari said.