UK CEED’s original research “Mapping the Greater Peterborough Environment Sector”, was produced back in 2001 to research and report on the characteristics and development potential of the environment sector in Greater Peterborough. As Gareth Jones, Project Manager says, “The research identified that the sector employed 4,500 people with a turnover of £340m. This report is now 8 years old and we predict that the sector has changed significantly since the original research was carried out.”

In March 2009, The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)[i] published an updated version of UK CEED’s 2005 “Study of Emerging Markets in the Environmental Industries Sector”. This research provides a new definition and hierarchy for the low carbon and environmental goods and services sector.

UK CEED will revisit the original 2001 mapping study and update it for 2009-10. The report will use the new BERR definitions and it is expected that this will the first mapping study in the UK to use these new definitions. The research will also identify the size of the LCGES sector in the Greater Peterborough Growth Area in terms of employment statistics and sector turnover.

The new research will also map the key technologies, products and services on offer from Greater Peterborough companies in the environment sector which will be developed in to a searchable on-line database.

Through a gap analysis exercise, the mapping will seek to demonstrate supply chain opportunities for external companies looking to operate/inward invest in Greater Peterborough. This will benefit existing companies in Peterborough but will also stimulate the creation of new businesses which will help grow the environmental business sector – one of the aim’s of Peterborough’s Local Area Agreements (LAA). Chris Murray, CEO of UK CEED says “We are extremely pleased to have been given the support by our partners Opportunity Peterborough to re-map the LCEGS sector in Greater Peterborough. UK CEED’s cluster experience will also be utilised to ensure that the growth meets the aspirations of the Community Strategy for the city.”

UK CEED’s re-mapping of the LCEGS sector in Greater Peterborough will provide an updated analysis of the environment sector and its impact in the City helping to strengthen Peterborough’s aspirations to become the UK’s environment capital.

EcoCluP Kick Off Meeting in Crete

UK CEED has won a bid to manage a European Union (EU) funded project entitled the ‘Eco innovative cluster partnership for growth and internationalisation’ (EcoCluP).

EcoCluP is the first pan-European partnership of cluster organisations focussing on eco-innovative industries encompassing waste, water, remediation, pollution control, environmental services, energy, sustainable transport and construction. The partnership represents most of Europe’s key clusters with a strong environmental portfolio such as Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

Globally this sector is estimated to be worth £3,046bn with Europe’s share at 27% in 2009. EcoCluP aims to provide cluster support tools and services to create better opportunities for the cluster companies to grow and internationalise and take full advantage of the global opportunity.

Gareth Jones, Project Manager at UK CEED said: “UK CEED’s success with the EcoCluP project is fantastic news for Peterborough’s EnviroCluster. It will enable us to network with clusters in the same sector across Europe bringing together knowledge, expertise and services which will benefit environmental businesses here in the city.”

The project aspires to be hands-on and very practical thus creating real business impact. It will reach out to over 3,500 cluster companies (mostly SMEs) and 430 research institutions of the participating clusters through training courses, match-making events, the use of self-assessment tools, voucher schemes and tailor-made innovation advice. Cluster managers will be trained and will have the opportunity to share experience through cluster manger days and cluster study visits.

“The project includes a number of exciting opportunities for EnviroCluster and our partner clusters. The study visits in particular will allow us to take our expertise to countries that are still in the early stages of developing similar clusters such as the United States and China” says Samantha Demaio, EcoCluP Project Officer.

Screenshot from the Northwest Toolkit Website

UK CEED, Entec and the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) are pleased to announce the launch of the new Northwest Integrated Appraisal Toolkit (IAT).

The IAT is an online, open-source, self-assessment tool that can be used to understand the positive and negative issues within a project or policy relating to sustainability. In the Northwest the IAT is also used by the NWDA as a tool to assess applications for all ERDF funded projects.

The IAT can be used at five different stages of developing and implementing polices and projects; concept, design, approval, implementation and evaluation. There are two uses of the IAT which are relevant to all five stages; a) as a time efficient means of structuring and recording discussion and b) as a simple means of collating relevant information for easy access. As users become more familiar with the tool it can be used to provide a common ‘language’ to structure discussion.

The tool is useful for anyone who is developing or reviewing a project or policy that needs to take into account issues relating to sustainability. “The UK CEED toolkits are an invaluable tool for assessing projects and policies, it has been designed to be as flexible as possible to enable users to appraise a wide array of projects,” says John Pickstone, Project Manager at UK CEED.

The IAT can be used for any type of project or policy; such as the construction of a new school or the development of a local health policy. It can take into account local, regional and national policy to ensure a comprehensive analysis of all sustainability issues and compliance with legal and statutory obligations.

The Northwest IAT aims to assist users in making informed decisions about the importance of sustainable development. “It is difficult to account for all areas of sustainability; this is where the IAT can help ensure that all relevant aspects of sustainability are covered” says John Pickstone, Project Manager.

To view the toolkit, click here.

City-based environmental organisation the UK Centre for Environmental and Economic Development (UK CEED) is running a one day workshop on 22 January at Peterborough’s Eco Innovation Centre. It will help local companies to exploit new opportunities that arise from legislation aimed at cutting carbon emissions.

Gareth Jones of UK CEED said: “Despite the disappointing outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Summit at the end of 2009, Britain has already put in place steps to reduce UK emissions.

“By April this year many businesses will be affected by new Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) legislation. The law will require over 5,000 organisations and companies to fully disclose their energy use and require another 15,000 to begin collecting baseline data. This means that these organisations will have to focus on managing and reducing their energy usage.

“Local consultancy Cambium LLP has estimated that the market will be worth £600 million per year in the UK.”

UK CEED believes that the legislation will provide new opportunities for innovative companies which have energy efficiency technologies or which can minimise the cost of data collection and reporting.

Gareth Jones said: “Over 350 low carbon environmental goods and services (LCEGS) companies are members of EnviroCluster Peterborough, a UK CEED initiative that aims to capture new opportunities for these businesses. This places the region in a perfect position to capitalise upon the market opportunity for low carbon technologies that will be created by the new CRC legislation.

“If your organisation has an innovation that helps to manage or reduce energy in the companies impacted by this legislation, then this event is an opportunity to give your company a big ‘first mover’ advantage.”

For more information and details on the event please contact Gareth Jones at UK CEED on 01733 311 644 or visit www.envirocluster.net.

The environmental sector is the fastest growing area of industry and commerce today.  Markets across the globe, in both developed and developing countries, are investing heavily in cleantech, renewable energy and environmental services. Businesses of all sizes who can provide these environmental solutions stand to gain as a result.

However, it is predicted that as the market matures there will be a massive consolidation with both winners and losers. Those companies which operate on a global scale will be the winners as they will be more likely to survive this change in the market.

This workshop is intended to help you understand the benefits of bringing an international dimension to your business, as without a significant international presence there is a risk that your business may lose out to competition, including those in the home market.

Experts from Austria, China and France will present the opportunities for the trade of environmental goods & services into their home markets, and will be on hand for one-to-one discussions with participants.

The event will be held at the Peterborough Showground on the evening of Tuesday 15th September 2009.

To express interest in attending this event please email k.horne@cambscci.co.uk

The National eWell-Being Awards, conceived by the charity UK CEED and sponsored by BT and Unison, are now in their 7th year.  The prestigious awards ceremony, held at the Royal Society of Arts in London, showcased the innovative application of Information Communication Technology by 33 finalists across the Award’s 9 categories.

The awards highlighted digital inclusion projects, such as the highly commended project ‘Essex UnITe’, which provides ICT training to older people in sheltered housing; and the winning entry, the Royal National College for the Blind’s ‘Robobraille’ project which offers a free of charge, email-based service where electronic documents can be translated into either synthetic speech or Braille.

The judges selected Brighton & Hove City Council as the overall winner of this year’s awards for ‘Talking Bus Stops’.  In August 2007 Brighton & Hove became the first area in the UK to introduce talking bus stops for blind and visually impaired people. Using the RNIB’s React system to link into the city’s existing Bus Real Time Information signs, blind and visually impaired people are able to hear announcements at bus stops so they no longer have to rely upon their fellow passengers.

The awards also look at the positive contribution ICT can make to the environmental challenge we face. The work of companies such as TelecityGroup, Memset and Sweet and Maxwell in making data centres more energy efficient all received recognition from the judges.  This year one organisation was singled out for special recognition for a true, long-term commitment to promoting and delivering sustainable IT.  That organisation is Sheffield based desktop PC and server manufacturer, VeryPC.

In her keynote address at the awards, Sue Nelson, the science and environment writer and broadcaster, praised the finalists for being at the forefront of innovation in ICT for environmental and social improvement and encouraged other organisations to follow the best practice demonstrated by this year’s winners.

Following the event the dissemination of best practice will be further facilitated by the publication of an award digital magazine with details of all the highly commended and winning projects with film, photos and articles.  The magazine can be found at http://www.sustainitawards.co.uk/winners2009.