Scottish Resources Conference Pulls Together Experts From Across The Globe

Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, Iain Gulland, has opened the 2016 Scottish Resources Conference by announcing that Scotland is moving the circular economy from rhetoric into reality due to a major investment from EU and the Scottish Government.

World-leading experts in sustainability and resource management are attending the two-day conference in Edinburgh aimed at Scotland’s growing circular economy.

Mr Gulland advised that since opening its circular economy investment fund in March, there are over 30 organisations in the running for funding totalling £14 million and many organisations are already receiving support for their circular economy business model. He also highlighted that there would be a number of targeted funding calls coming up in the next few weeks and months, aimed at small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular sectors.

Delegates on the first day of the conference also heard from Mathis Wackernagel, President of Global Footprint Network and co-creator of the ecological footprint concept, and Eric Lombardi, who is Executive Director of US enterprise Eco-Cycle International, and one of the pioneers of the zero waste movement globally.

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland said:

“Earlier this year an £18 million circular economy investment programme, managed by Zero Waste Scotland, was launched using funding from the Scottish Government and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This funding has given us a fantastic opportunity to invest in really innovative solutions, led by Scottish SMEs, that can be really transformative.

I’m delighted that we already have 35 projects in the final application stages for funding.

“The Scottish Resources Conference is a great showcase of how we are already operating in a circular economy and we hope it inspires others to bring forward ideas that will transform how we do business in the future.”

The conference is showcasing innovative business models at the heart of the circular economy, including smartphone apps that help to divert surplus food, a successful Danish company leasing baby’s clothing as an alternative to ‘fast fashion’, and a Scottish biotechnology firm creating advanced fuels from whisky by-products.

A copy of the full programme can be viewed here.

For further information visit: zerowastescotland.org.uk and ciwm.co.uk