Latest News
14 March 2012
Green Bank will focus on waste processing and recycling
The
13 March 2012
New guide shows businesses how to go green and improve performance
A guide designed to show businesses how they can go green and improve their bottom line has been launched by Scotland’s Environment Minister.
12 March 2012
£50,000 prize for app to help businesses go green
A prize of £50,000 is on offer to software developers who can produce the best App to help businesses in Scotland reduce their carbon emissions. The Scottish Government, SSE,...
9 March 2012
BT products first to achieve independent verification by Carbon Trust under new international standard
BT has become the first company in the world to have product carbon footprints independently verified by the Carbon Trust to the new GHG Protocol Product Standard. The...
8 March 2012
Green Investment Bank to be based in Edinburgh and London
The Business Secretary Vince Cable announced today (8 March) that the first ever UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) will be based in Edinburgh and London. The headquarters of the...
Leading by Example
The 2020 Climate Group, leading by example and mobilising our combined potential.
2020 Climate Group sets 12 priorities for 2012
Scotland’s 2020 Climate Group has agreed 12 priorities for 2012 – with the aim of driving concerted action in a range of areas to help Scotland realise its 2020 target to reduce carbon emissions by 42 per cent.
The ‘12 for 2012’ – announced on January 12th at 12 noon – include a promise to closely examine the toughest environmental challenges facing Scotland. These ‘difficult questions’ will include a paper on speed limits to open up a debate on the subject.
New guide shows businesses how to go green and improve performance
A guide designed to show businesses how they can go green and improve their bottom line has been launched by Scotland’s Environment Minister.
Better Business: How to Go Greener with Staff to Improve Performance aims to make companies and organisations realise that climate-friendly employee policies and better productivity can go hand-in-hand. The booklet offers examples of good practice taken from a wide-ranging study covering public and private sector and large and small organisations – including Coca Cola, BT, SSE, Edinburgh Hilton and Aberdeenshire Council.
The guide was launched by Stewart Stevenson on the first day of Climate Week 2012 at a meeting of
Scotland’s 2020 Climate Group. Earlier, the authors of the report had described its findings to the 2020 group.
Mr Stevenson, the Scottish Government’s Minister for Environment and Climate Change, said: “This guide outlines the ambition and innovation of a range of companies and demonstrates how low carbon activity can be good for business. It has been produced through collaboration between the public and private sectors in Scotland and shows how everyone must work together to help reduce our emissions and meet our targets.”
£50,000 prize for app to help businesses go green
A prize of £50,000 is on offer to software developers who can produce the best App to help businesses in Scotland reduce their carbon emissions.
The Scottish Government, SSE, SEPA and Microsoft launched the national competition today [Monday 12th March] in an effort to produce an App targeted specifically at small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
The SME EnviroApp contest was launched on the first day of Climate Week 2012 by Environment and Climate Change Minister Stewart Stevenson at a meeting of Scotland’s 2020 Climate Group, whose members have been instrumental in bringing the project together.
The App, which will be free to download, aims to assist owners of SMEs in Scotland to measure, manage and reduce carbon emissions – and play a part in achieving the 2020 targets.
Mr Stevenson said: “This is a great example of Scotland’s public and private sectors working together to develop creative, practical and effective solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Al Gore praises Scotland’s commitment to low carbon economy
Climate change campaigner and Nobel Laureate Al Gore has praised Scotland’s commitment to renewables and the low carbon economy and said it was offering leadership to the world.
In a keynote speech at the Scottish Low Carbon Investment Conference (SLCIC) in Edinburgh on 28 September 2011, the former US Vice President described Scotland’s example as “inspiring”.
Read an assessment of low carbon investment by Lady Susan Rice, Managing Director of Lloyds Banking Group Scotland and 2020 Finance Sub-group Chair, following the SLCI conference.
Watch a short video of a recent talk on climate change given by Al Gore in New York.
The 2020 Climate Group will help all sectors of Scotland’s economy and civic society contribute fully to achieving the Climate Change Delivery Plan over the next decade and is convened by SSE Chief Executive Ian Marchant.
The group – which included heads of companies as broad as Scottish Water, BT and the People’s Postcode Lottery – met for the first time on 8th December 2009 at the Falkirk Wheel as the UN Climate Change Conference continued in Copenhagen.
The working remit for the 2020 group includes undertaking the following:
- build on the work of the Climate Change Business Delivery Group and other climate change alliances to provide strong, visible leadership to Scotland’s business and non-governmental communities to inspire them to do more to reduce carbon emissions;
- help drive innovation through partnerships and synergies between members;
- advise on, and aim to make early progress towards, achievement of the outcomes and targets of the Climate Change Delivery Plan;
- identify relevant action and opportunities, and collaborate, to bring benefits to the Scottish economy;
- identify where the group can best target its resources and expertise to accelerate the development, investment and action required across the following areas: Heat, Electricity, Waste, Transport, Rural land use & forestry, Consumer behaviour & attitudes.