Investment

In comparison with the rest of the UK, Scotland performs at an above average rate in the following areas:

  • Air pollution
  • Marine pollution
  • Waste management
  • Water and waste water treatment
  • Wind and carbon capture and storage

The overall environmental good sector in Scotland is estimated to be worth around £2.14 billion and includes more than 1,000 companies employing 18,500 people, higher than the average across the UK.

Scotland performs particularly highly in relative GVA terms for contaminated land, and recovery and recycling technologies.

Pre-commercialisation of new technologies

There are a number of government programmes designed to support the pre-commercialisation of new technologies which emerge from Scotland’s universities and research institutes, such as the Proof of Concept Programme.

Some examples of research projects which have had significant commercial success include:

  • ‘Renewable Energy from Novel Environmental Waste’, by Napier University
  • A high precision position measurement system
  • A biological approach for ship ballast water treatment

Scotland has 44 of the top 1,000 companies in the UK for R&D investment in 2009. Within clean technology, this includes Alexander Dennis.

Support for the cleantech industry in Scotland

The Scottish Environmental Technology Network (SETN) aims to improve the competitiveness of Scottish SMEs in the environmental sector including areas such as contaminated land assessment and remediation, waste management, resource recovery, water and wastewater treatment, sustainable urban drainage systems and environmental management.

Members are supported in undertaking collaborative R&D, obtaining funding, and providing access to information.

Sustainable Glasgow is an intiative which aims to make Glasgow one of Europe’s most sustainable cities within 10 years. In part this goal will be delivered by large scale projects and investment - but also through engaging  with citizens, communities and employers and by putting in place strong and supportive public policies.