Key information for applicants

Please note: you must apply for this Challenge via Public Contracts Scotland

Launch date
Monday 14 June 2021

Closing date
Midday, Friday 9 July 2021

Exploration Stage interviews
3 August 2021

Exploration Stage
23 August – 10 September 2021

Accelerator interviews
15 September 2021

Accelerator Stage
4 October 2021 – 28 January 2022

Q&A session

A live Q&A session was held with the Challenge Sponsor team on 21 June 2021 at 11:00. The recording can be viewed here:

Why does this Challenge need to be solved?

The Economic Development Directorate has just published “Making Scotland’s Future: A Recovery Plan for Manufacturing.” This sets out a series of actions for public agencies, industry and academia to take forward by the end of 2021. These actions are designed to secure a strong, sustainable future for the manufacturing sector in Scotland.

Manufacturing is a key source of business research and development, and of high-quality employment. Pre-COVID-19 figures show the sector was worth £12.5 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) - approximately 13% of total GVA - and employed approximately 170,000 people, many in highly-skilled jobs. Modernisation, in particular embracing digital transformation and low carbon production, will be key to the future. First and foremost, these changes will boost companies’ productivity and profitability, but they will also put the manufacturing sector at the heart of a global green recovery. The sector will help Scotland meet its target of generating net zero emissions by 2045 and increase its international competitiveness by making the country a more attractive place for trade and investment.

At the moment in Scotland, the capability of manufacturing businesses to decarbonise their operations and activities varies across industry and sector, as well as by size and type of business organisation. Many businesses struggle to understand the carbon impact of their operations, making it difficult or impossible for them to reduce it. As Scotland works towards Net Zero 2045, these businesses need to play a key role in contributing to a low carbon and net zero society, but how can they do so when they don’t understand their present impact?  

The vast majority of manufacturers in Scotland are Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), and they are often the companies who find it difficult to assess their environmental footprint. There are consultancy services in the market to help manufacturers do this and decarbonise, however few SMEs engage with them.

As part of the broader Manufacturing Recovery Plan we want to help companies better assess their current impact on the environment in order for them to take steps to address it. This has the potential to give a wider, sectoral view of impact and help improve data driven decisions. There is also the potential for companies who can show the actions they’re taking from an environmental perspective to benefit commercially, given increasing demands from customers for firms to demonstrate their sustainability credentials.

How will we know the Challenge has been solved?

Outcomes for individual businesses:

• Enable business owners and managers to easily know their carbon footprint

• Enable businesses to be able to identify and prioritise the business activities and decisions that decarbonise a business.

• Enable businesses to calculate the impact of decisions that decarbonise their business activities

• Enable businesses to calculate the costs of decisions that decarbonise their business activities

• Enable business to do an “in house” assessment/return on investment

• Accelerate Scottish industry in advance of UK (global?) and preferential economic position. Race to Zero Pledge is 2050 (in contrast to Net Zero 2045)

Measures:

• X % of SMEs take up incentives and support services to decarbonise (in what time sccsale?)e.g. Green Job

• Y% increase in participation in the manufacturing industry (measured by new entrants or new product or some other measure?)

Who are the end users of the solution likely to be? title

• Businesses across all sectors and industries with the immediate use case focused on that of manufacturing sector of Scotland

• Contract services including consultancy

Has the Challenge Sponsor attempted to solve this problem before?

Consultant services are established in the market to help decarbonise business however these are not typically engaged by SMEs and engagement varies across different sectors

Only detailed analysis in specific areas of specialism which does not provide a solution to all sectors or parts of the business economy

Expertise is required to train people with the skills and knowledge to decarbonise businesses.  Thus this tool may allow companies to generate an initial understanding of their priorities that would allow informed forward discussion with such expertise should companies wish to pursue.

Are there any interdependencies or blockers?

• Offshoring responsibility

• EU Exit, border and trade [SIC codes, disclosure from businesses, material passports, desire is to capture international contribution of imported materials]

• Consultants might see a solution as a threat. We wish to enable consultants to be involved

• Circular economy and responsibility of businesses

Are there any technologies that the Challenge Sponsor wishes to explore or avoid?

No.

What is the commercial opportunity beyond a CivTech contract?

• Further development of the solution to go to global market

• Other industries

Who are the stakeholders?

• Economic Development Directorate

• Industry

• National Manufacturing Institute Scotland

• Censis

Who’s in the Challenge Sponsor team?

The Advanced Manufacturing Policy Team in Scottish Government will be responsible for sponsorship of the Challenge but plan to coordinate activity within the pre-existing structures of the Manufacturing Recovery Plan framework. This means the Adaptation and Transformation workstream of the Recovery Plan Programme (led by Paul Winstanley, CEO Censis) would lead on technical input including drawing in subject matter expertise and access to relevant data. On these two points there is strong potential for that to include NMIS research, technical advice or business engagement experience, input from SMAS and their extensive engagement on asset reviews with the SME base and also scope to include other innovation centres such as Censis and Data Lab.

Will a solution need to integrate with any existing systems or equipment?

SG Office of the Chief Economic Adviser

• Manufacturing Recovery Plan Manufacturing - recovery plan: business and regulatory impact assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

• SG Directorate for Energy and Climate Change Decarbonising Scotland's industrial sectors and sites: discussion paper - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

• SG Directorate for International Trade and Investment

• SG Scottish Procurement and Property Directorate

• Economic Development and Skills Agencies

Just Transition – The CCPu notes - Fairness will be at the heart of our climate action, ensuring that individuals and communities are not left behind. Collectively, we must plan and prepare, so that that these transformational changes are harnessed to tackle inequalities, provide good jobs, improve our environment and support a thriving, wellbeing economy. 

Productivity and Wellbeing – The Office of the Chief Economic Adviser is currently taking forward work on how best to combine productivity and wellbeing economies in keeping with SG aim and the NPF. 

Fair Work Principles - It is also important that any outputs and their application are consistent with Fair Work Principles and Themes including:

• support employers to adopt Fair Work practices

• deliver Fair Work to a diverse and inclusive workforce

Fair Work sits at the heart of our ambition to move toward a wellbeing economy and is central to supporting economic recovery.

The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)