Scottish Enterprise (SE) has launched a ‘Low Carbon Built Environment (LCBE) Expert Service' to support individuals and organisations with products that will help Scotland deliver on its low and zero carbon agenda.
Professor Sean Smith, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Construction (ISC), joins experts from BRE Scotland and the University of Strathclyde as part of a three-year project being funded by Scottish Enterprise. The project will aim to assist in excess of 150 companies commercialise their ideas through delivery of the service.
Using the BBC ‘Dragons Den' model, the project team will assess proposals submitted by Scottish companies. Once a project has gained approval to proceed the company will then be invited to attend a surgery held by ‘LCBE Experts' who will interrogate the feasibility and development of the proposal on behalf of Scottish Enterprise for acceleration to the market place.
Professor Sean Smith, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Construction, who is co-author of four patents currently licensed to UK and Scottish companies for low carbon building technologies, said: “I am delighted that Scottish Enterprise are supporting this key sector of our economy. The construction product sector has a vital role to play in the country’s future innovation, growth and export market. Many Scottish companies have been badly affected in this significant economic recession and this new support mechanism we hope will identify and accelerate to market new Scottish building technology innovations.”
Laura Birrell, Associate Director BRE Scotland stated "Our aim is to gain maximum opportunity for organisations operating within the Scottish Enterprise region. Within our team we have the necessary expertise to not only identify key projects for investment but to enable and stimulate cross sector collaboration in delivery of low carbon solutions to the market. Scottish Enterprise should be applauded for investing in an emerging sector that has the potential to create opportunities for Scottish companies to innovate, resulting in low carbon solutions being made available to the international market. An additional benefit of this service is that when the construction sector recovers from the downturn there will be a better choice of low and zero carbon technologies to procure into projects to meet future energy standards".
Michael Kornacki, Project Manager, Scottish Enterprise said: "Opportunities arising within the emerging low carbon sector provide a unique chance for the Scottish construction sector to develop world-leading technologies in designing, building or retrofitting domestic or commercial buildings in order to adjust them to zero carbon standards. Scottish Enterprise wishes to support the construction sector in grasping these opportunities and therefore grow the Scottish economy".
The project will be executed with Dragons Den format roadshows, dedicated surgeries and provision of a website to provide information such as dates of roadshows, registering projects for evaluation, production of case studies, general advice and links to relevant websites.
For further information please contact Laura Birrell from BRE Scotland on 01355 576200.