Scotland’s Environment Secretary has announced a targeted round of funding to help enterprise development bodies across Scotland speed up the shift towards a circular economy within their regions.

Roseanna Cunningham today (6 October) outlined the ‘circular regions’ funding call from Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS), part of the Scottish Government’s £70-million Circular Economy Investment Fund and Service programme established earlier this year.

Speaking during the second day of the Scottish Resources Conference, which is this year focused on Scotland’s circular economy ambitions and its future relationship with the European Union, Cunningham explained that the funding will help enterprise networks identify and implement innovative resource-efficiency ideas from small or medium-sized companies (SMEs).

Funding will be available to local consortiums where the lead partner is classified as an SME, and applicants can bid for two separate stages of funding: identifying business opportunities locally or working to develop opportunities with local businesses.

The funding will be managed by ZWS as part of the £18-million funding programme created to implement circular economy practices in SMEs. Through it, applicants can apply for grants of between £20,000 and £1 million, supplied by both the Scottish Government and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

A ‘step change in scale, range and depth’ of resource efficiency

Explaining the funding call, Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “This targeted call builds on a pilot initiative last year with Glasgow Chamber of Commerce which completed a ‘circle scan’ of the regional economy to identify potential business growth opportunities, including a collaboration with Jaw Brew, an independent craft brewery, and local bakery Aulds to develop a beer made by using waste bread.

“The project has proven very successful to date, and other cities and areas have expressed an interest in replicating this approach.

“This approach for regional SMEs will accelerate a circular economy throughout Scotland by helping businesses be resource efficient and by opening up collaboration opportunities. Our programme will deliver a step change in the scale, range and depth of existing resource efficiency work across all business and social economy sectors in Scotland.”

SEPA waste to resources framework launched to unlock value of resources

A new framework for tackling waste was also announced at the conference today by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

The ‘One Planet Prosperity’ framework outlines how SEPA intends to drive down waste production and keep valuable materials circulating for as long as possible, whilst preventing and tackling the harms associated with waste management and waste crime.

SEPA says the principles set out in the framework will define its approach to waste and resource management across all sectors of the economy.

Launching the framework, Terry A’hearn, SEPA’s Chief Executive, said: “Unlocking the value of material resources in our economy is crucial for bringing about the radical step change needed to build a more sustainable Scotland. We will work with forward-thinking businesses to raise awareness of the value which waste materials have and ultimately help businesses turn waste into profit.

“At this point in our journey, it is not a choice between driving resource efficiency, preventing harm or tackling crime – we must do it all and do it together.”

More information about the funding call can be found on the Zero Waste Scotland website, while the ‘One Planet Prosperity – A Waste to Resources Framework’ can be downloaded from the SEPA website.