£1m fund aims to boost green ideas in manufacturing sector

Manufacturing businesses with innovative green ideas are being urged to tap into £1 million of funding currently available from Zero Waste Scotland.

Manufacturing is a key target sector for the Zero Waste Scotland fund. Picture: John Devlin

Scotland is said to be at the cutting edge of developing a more “circular economy” – designing products and services to keep materials in use for as long as possible – and the aim is to harness the innovation of its manufacturers to realise “huge economic and environmental benefits”.

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Manufacturing is a key target sector for Zero Waste Scotland’s Circular Economy Investment Fund.

Grant funding of up to £1m has been made available to small and medium-sized enterprises from the fund.

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Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Scotland’s manufacturing sectors are of huge importance to the Scottish economy and are ideally placed to help drive more circular business practices that set Scotland up for a more profitable and sustainable future.

“This is an opportunity to gain financial support for innovative new ideas that generate growth, as well as driving a more circular economy in Scotland. There are huge potential benefits for both the businesses themselves and the country as a whole, and we at Zero Waste Scotland are keen to hear from businesses with transformational ideas.”

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The launch of the fund was welcomed by Scottish Engineering chief executive Bryan Buchan, who said: “The advent of circular business models presents exciting opportunities for Scottish manufacturers.

“The engineering sector has the expertise to really lead in this area and should be able to take advantage of this.”

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