Focus on sustainability key to a globally competitive Scotland
Companies in the Scottish construction and chemical industries are being urged to tap into the £1.9bn of sales predicted in the low carbon sector by 2020 by looking for ways to grow their businesses through increasing efficiencies and developing new sustainable products and services.
Support in taking advantage of these new opportunities is being provided by industry-specific guides being launched by Scottish Enterprise, with Construction and Chemicals the first in a series aimed at a number of key sectors in Scotland including Life Sciences, Tourism and Food and Drink.
Construction – Low Carbon Opportunities in Scotland, outlines the challenges and opportunities for the sector and the resources available while Chemical Sciences – Environmental and Clean Tech Opportunities in Scotland encourages companies in the sector to be more pro-active in providing product and technology solutions to global challenges.
John Crawford, Scottish Enterprise strategy and development manager, says that as a leader in low carbon technologies such as renewable energy Scotland is well placed to exploit the opportunities in the low carbon technology sector and increase its market share to become a global player.
“The UK and global export markets offer significant potential for Scottish-based businesses to supply innovative services and technology in order to solve long-term global challenges such as climate change, food security, energy security and clean water. But for Scotland to be globally competitive we must be more pro-active and develop our domestic low carbon marketplace.
“By looking at how they can be more efficient in their manufacturing processes, recycling scare raw materials and by designing new products with a lower environmental impact, companies have the opportunity to expand into new areas to meet the growing demand for sustainable technology.”
Companies are also being urged to take advantage of sustainable energy sources and look at how progress can be made in the key area of biotechnology - a sector forecast to grow by up to £12bn in the UK by 2025. Bio-fuels alone have a predicted growth of £7bn as they are increasingly used to displace petrol, diesel, and jet fuel in the UK.
The new guides can be downloaded and support to help develop low carbon practices accessed at www.scottish-enterprise.com.