Supporting Scotland's Green Recovery Webinar

In the run up to COP26, Scotland Excel hosted a free webinar themed around Goal 4 of the event, working together rise to the challenges of the climate crisis.

One of the ways this can be achieved is through 'collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society‘. Scotland Excel's webinar brought together industry leaders to explore ways for the public, third and private sectors to work together to tackle the climate emergency.

The event, which took place on Thursday 28 October, was attended by more than 130 people and was hosted by Hugh Carr, Scotland Excel’s Head of Strategic Procurement. 

The keynote address was given by Ivan McKee MSP, Scottish Government’s Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, who spoke of “the power of procurement and the need for us all to unite to tackle the climate emergency.”

Mr McKee went on to say: “The goal that we’ve set out in our programme for government is to be a Net Zero Nation by 2045 [and] we all have our part to play. Procurement is absolutely vital in ensuring a Just Transition.”

Hugh Carr said of the event: “With public procurement recognised as a key driver of Scotland's economy, and the public sector spending approximately £12.6bn a year on goods, services and works, its power to support positive change through collaboration and innovation is widely recognised.

"The webinar was a timely discussion on how the various sectors in Scotland can work together to support the country’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, whilst also ensuring environmental stewardship of our planet.

“With public, private and third sectors all pulling together, we can innovate and continuously improve our efforts to create ‘greener’ supply chains.”

After Mr McKee’s keynote address, the audience heard from Nikki Archer, Head of Procurement and Commercial Policy and Strategy at the Scottish Government on how it is leading climate change initiatives and the importance of attracting young people into the profession.

Fiona MacDonald, Innovation Manager at Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) looked at the innovative practices taking place in the construction industry and the 'cultural shift' which will realise the net zero potential of the sector.

Catherine Pendreigh, Food For Life Partnerships Manager at Soil Association Scotland, gave a highly informative talk about the role of public food procurement and its importance in delivering a green recovery.

Completing the speakers’ sessions, Terry Hogg, Innovation Challenge Team Leader at Scottish Enterprise, took an in-depth look at his organisation's support for the green recovery through its new national programmes.

The webinar closed with a lively panel session with questions from the audience.  The webinar is available to view below through Scotland Excel's You Tube channel.

The webinar forms a part of Scotland Excel's commitment to a more sustainable and greener Scotland through our ‘Supporting Scotland's Green Recovery’ campaign.

You can follow our campaign on our website, Twitter and LinkedIn. Get involved using the hashtag #SupportingScotlandsGreenRecovery