Strategic Solutions for Resource Efficiency

Dr Gavin Bunting

Swansea University / Technium

GIN Conference, Cardiff2 July 2006

Presentation Summary

• Resource Efficiency

• Expert Panel on Resources Management (EPRM)

o Terms of Reference

o Work Structure

o Biggest Impact Areas

• Strategic Solutions

• Smarter Support

Resource Efficiency

‘the efficient use of materials or energy throughout the product or process lifecycle’.

• In 2002, organisations within Wales accounted for 53% of Wales’ energy consumption and 60-80% of waste.

• Energy efficiency is cost effective: rates of return around 15%

• Potential to reduce non-domestic emissions by around 20%

• UK businesses lose up to 4.5% of annual turnover every year through avoidable waste

Expert Panel on Resources Management

Terms of Reference

‘Providing well-informed policy and independent evaluation of business and environment support in Wales’

The Expert Panel is tasked with:

Advising the Welsh Assembly Government on resource management current and likely future business best practice.

Comment on progress of the implementation of BEAP.

Advise the Welsh Assembly Government on the formal evaluation of BEAP.

Advise the Welsh Assembly Government on the development of further phases of BEAP.

• Identified Materials & Energy as key themes• Communications critical in delivery

Materials

Energy

Resources managemen

t

CommunicationsDelivery

Work Structure

Biggest Impact Areas

ENERGY

• Energy Efficiency

• Microgeneration

• Construction

• Transport

MATERIALS

• Eco-design

• Reducing and re-using

• Recycling

• Construction

The strategic solutions can significantly influence all of the above areas

Strategic Solutions

Strategic Solutions

These solutions apply to:

ORGANISATIONSBuildingPeople

TransportProducts/services

Finance

Energy

Hard & Soft Infrastructure

Public Sector Lead

Smarter Support

KPI

Grant eligibility

Training and education

Commercial Opportunities

R&D

Materials

Strategic Solutions

HARD AND SOFT INFRASTRUCTURE

To provide the necessary resources that will allow organisations to become more resource efficient. These need to be easily accessible and provided in an integrated, co-ordinated, non-exclusive manner.

• For resource efficiency to be adopted a suitable infrastructure needs to be in place

• Recycling networks

• Business support and public sector policy or finance

Strategic Solutions

PUBLIC SECTOR LEAD

• The public sector in Wales has a procurement budget of £4bn which accounts for 11% of Wales’s GDP

• This spending power has the ability to shape markets

• The public sector can demonstrate best practice

• Public sector services to be better value for money

• Long term targets by the public sector will lead to long term demand

Strategic Solutions

SMARTER SUPPORT

The support and measures provided to encourage better resource efficiency within organisations in Wales, must be easily accessible,

relevant, sector specific and good value for money. In order to achieve this, an integrated, coherent approach is needed.

• A support system that helps organisations in Wales become increasingly resource efficient.

• Regulation and financial incentives that encourage resource efficiency

• The engagement of the private sector

• Effective, innovative and good value support programmes

Strategic Solutions

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR (KPI)

• Make measurement of resource use easy and common-place

• Report against climate change targets;

• Raise awareness of each organisation’s resource-burden; and

• Highlight areas for greater efficiency

A KPI is required to measure the progress of the organisation and the success of the organisational support providers (OSPs), in implementing

better resource efficiency.

Strategic Solutions

GRANT ELIGIBILITY

• To use grant-funding as an incentive for organisations in Wales to measure and continuously improve their resource efficiency.

Drivers are needed to persuade organisations to consider their resource efficiency and adopt a policy of continual improvement. The public

sector can maximise implementation of resource efficiency measures in the terms and conditions of their grants.

Strategic Solutions

TRAINING AND EDUCATION

• Give Welsh organisations a positive global reputation in the provision and use of resource efficiency measures.

• Increase the skills base

• Provide the knowledge required for innovation

• Raise the awareness of the national population of the positive financial & quality of life implications of resource efficiency.

•Drive improvements in resource efficiency through consumer pressure.

• Raise the awareness of the positive economic impacts of resource efficiency and promote voluntary adoption of the measures to achieve this.

Strategic Solutions

COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES

• Make businesses aware and able to take advantage of the positive opportunities that providing resource efficiency products or services can bring.

• Make Wales the foremost provider of products or services that enhance resource efficiency.

• Provide businesses with resource efficient products or services sourced from within Wales

Organisations need to be made aware of the commercial opportunities available in enabling organisations to become more resource efficient,

and the benefits of locating / starting-up their organisation within Wales.

Strategic Solutions

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

• Promote innovation and a vibrant economy around the technologies and processes that relate to resource efficiency

• Foster the next generation of technologies or processes that will help organisations in Wales, and globally, be more resource efficient.

• Provide the knowledge required for innovation in the field of resource efficiency

R&D is needed to identify more efficient technologies, methods or practices, as well as maximising the commercial viability of current

technologies in the field of resources management.

Smarter Support

Barriers to Smarter Support

• Current business support infrastructure is complex

• Confusion within the private sector of who to seek advice from.

• 48% of businesses want more help to deal with environmental issues

• Businesses are most likely to contact their local authority for guidance on environmental issues.

• The UK Government Sustainable Consumption & Production review recommended:

“that options be explored to provide programme networking, to share information and promote closer working between the various support programmes…..”

Barriers to Smarter Support

Federation of Small Businesses Membership Survey 2006

CarbonTrust

Envirowise

WRAP Wastemin.clubs

Netregs BREW

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

% A

war

e of

In

itia

tive

s

Envirowise

Smarter Support

‘the support and measures provided to encourage better resource efficiency within organisations in

Wales, must be easily accessible, relevant, sector specific and good value for money. In order to achieve

this, an integrated, coherent approach is needed’

Smarter Support

Resource Efficiency

Data

Strategy

Network

Funding

Organisations

Sector Specific Advice

Positive economic impacts

Regulation / Incentives

Smarter Support

FUNDING• Grants dictate targets and areas of focus

• Coordination between funders needed to achieve coordination & eliminate duplication.

• Identifying projects where OSPs can collaborate to access funds

• Funding bodies would need consistent, reliable data on:

o the priorities of other funding bodies,

o the OSPs already being funded and their targets,

o the expertise of the OSPs and

o the needs of the client organisations

Smarter Support

STRATEGY

• Responsibility for organisational support is split between WAG depts.

• A single cross-departmental strategy could help lead to:

o Consistent provision of organisational support across depts

o Focus for expenditure as mentioned above.

Smarter Support

DATABASE

a) Information for funders / administrators and auditors

Targeting funding and strategy

Provide a good baseline for monitoring success

b) Information for organisations / OSPs

Tool for organisations looking for advice

Aid signposting of organisations

Support the successful operation of client management systems by the OSPs.

Smarter Support

DATABASE

c) Resource efficiency information for organisations

The cost of technologies / measures to increase resource efficiency is a perceived barrier often cited by organisations

Consistent evidence based data including:

Pros and cons, including payback periods, for resource efficiency technologies

The economic impact of resource efficiency

Best practice guides

Legislation / Strategy

Coordinated supply of services /

technologies

Smarter Support

Network / Forum

Share Best Practice

Supply matching Demand

ID of Commercial Opportunities Joint Initiatives

Private Sector

Potential for Collaboration

Public Sector / OSPs /

Academia

Communication and Engagement

Smarter Support

Sector specific advice

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000

Other

Communication and Transport

Sport and Leisure

Health

Government

Warehouses

Commercial Offices

Education

Hotel and Catering

Retail

Thousand tonnes of oil equivalent

Catering Computing Cooling ventilation Hot water Heating Lighting Other

Organisations want to know what is relevant to them with regards to resource efficiency

Smarter Support

Positive economic benefits

• How does resource efficiency affect the bottom line?

• This is the basis of BEAP

• What commercial opportunities are available?

o Environmental Goods and Services sector was predicted to increase from $550bn a year in 2002 to $688bn in 2010.

o First mover advantage in this sector is considerable

• These MORI survey, which showed that businesses have manpower and skills at the top of their agenda, followed by competitiveness.

Smarter Support

Regulation / incentives

• Incentives:

o Useful short-term measure to support young markets where economies of scale have not been reached.

• Regulation:

o Correct market failures, promoting fairness and increasing competition

o Create a level playing field and ultimately behavioural change

o Key to building EGS market – Carbon Trading

Summary

These solutions apply to:

ORGANISATIONSBuildingPeople

TransportProducts/services

Finance

Energy

Hard & Soft Infrastructure

Public Sector Lead

Smarter Support

KPI

Grant eligibility

Training and education

Commercial Opportunities

R&D

Materials

Summary

Resource Efficiency

Data

Strategy

Network

Funding

Organisations

Sector Specific Advice

Positive economic impacts

Regulation / Incentives

Effective Communication is Vital

Thank you for your time