Bernardas Padegimas

Bernardas Padegimas is a Senior Project Manager at SEI Headquarters, working on sustainable transition and EU enlargement across Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans.

His work focuses on shaping SEI’s strategic engagement in the region, developing new programmes and partnerships, and expanding cooperation with donors and development partners. He works across climate, energy and environmental policy, with a particular focus on helping countries translate EU accession and transition ambitions into effective policies, stronger institutions, investment priorities and implementation.

Bernardas returned to SEI in 2026 after serving as Head of Environmental Sustainability at Ignitis Group, one of the largest energy groups in the Baltic region. At Ignitis Group, he led the Group’s environmental sustainability team and worked across climate transition, decarbonisation, biodiversity and circular economy. His responsibilities included strengthening the Group’s climate transition planning and implementation, supporting science-based net-zero commitments, integrating environmental considerations into business and investment planning, and developing approaches to biodiversity and circular economy across energy generation, renewable energy and electricity distribution activities. This experience gave him a strong private-sector and implementation perspective on the practical challenges of delivering the energy and sustainability transition.

Previously at SEI, Bernardas served as a Team Lead and led the development and implementation of major programmes across Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans. These included the Green Agenda programme in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine (GA GUMA), Sustainable Transitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH SuTra), the Environmental Strategy and Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH ESAP), work on waste management in Georgia, and the Mistra Geopolitics Programme. His work combined programme development and leadership with policy support on climate, environment, sustainable transition and EU accession.

Before joining SEI, Bernardas worked internationally on climate policy, water and marine governance, transboundary natural resource management and environmental security. His experience includes roles with the World Water Council, OSPAR Commission and UNEP/GRID-Arendal, working with governments, international organizations and partners across Europe and internationally.

Bernardas holds an MSc in Environmental Impact Assessment and Management from the University of Manchester, UK, and a BSc in Environmental Science from Vilnius University, Lithuania.