Download the Conference Report.

Scotland has made significant progress in meeting the challenges of climate change and creating opportunities for sustainable economic growth. Now The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 has committed Scotland to hugely ambitious targets for reducing emissions.
 
The Government’s ten Energy Pledges focus on Scotland’s natural competitive advantage in renewable energy and set out a blueprint to create tens of thousands of green jobs over the next decade. The Sustainable Transport Group is exploring the potential commercial benefits of low carbon vehicles and intelligent transport, while the Zero Waste Action Plan suggests 2,000 new jobs could be created through the treatment of waste. 

A new strategy for harnessing public sector support for developing clean, green technologies will be published later this year by Scottish Enterprise, Sepa, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Funding Council. This conference is a chance to feed into the consultation process for this document.

But maximising the economic potential of a greener economy is not just about adding a touch of colour to existing policies and structures. How does the planning system support a greener economy, while remaining sensitive to the demands of communities? How does Scotland ensure the supply of skilled labour to new industries? What kind of support do small and medium enterprises need to benefit from the green revolution? 

Scottish Enterprise is our strategic partner for this event, which aims to get past the rhetoric and debate whether a greener business revolution is wishful thinking…or the key to Scotland’s economic recovery.

Download the Agenda.

Agenda

Our high-quality line-up of key players in the sector includes environmental experts, business leaders, politicians, academics and those who have made green businesses work. The emphasis of the whole day is HOW DO WE MAKE IT HAPPEN?

Susan Rice, Managing Director of Lloyds Banking Group Scotland and Jim Mather, Energy and Enterprise Minister will set the scene for the day along with Richard Dixon of WWF Scotland.

Adrian Gillespie, Director of Energy and Low Carbon Technologies for Scottish Enterprise, will lead a session on how to help bring green businesses to the market. He will be followed by two companies who have done it, Pelamis Wave Power - a leader in tidal technologies - and REpower, a big-name manufacturer of renewable technologies.

Afternoon seminars will focus on some of the key areas that must be right if the green economy is to flourish in Scotland - PLANNING & INFRASTRUCTURE, INNOVATION and SKILLS. These sessions will be led by: Ronnie Hinds, Chief Executive of Fife Council and a member of the government's 2020 group; Nigel Ellis, Head of Ventures at Scottish & Southern Energy and Jim Brown, Scotland's leading authority on skills in the renewables sector.

The event will be followed by the announcement of The Scottish Green List, a roll-call of the people in business, community projects, health and politics who are creating solutions to our environmental, social and economic problems making Scotland fairer and greener. The list is presented in partnership with the Scottish Sustainable Development Forum. Wine, soft drinks and snacks will be served from 4-4.30pm and the list will be announced from approximately 4.30-5.30pm, followed by another half-hour of networking opportunities.
 
You can attend the Green List event at no additional cost - please can you indicate whether you wish to stay on for the announcement at time of booking. See Scotland's Green Campaign for details of last year's list.

View the flyer.

In the Press

Green Power Revolution to create 500 jobs a month, The Scotsman, 23rd March 2010

Scotland loses out in £80m turbine plans, The Scotsman, 30th March 2010

Wind Farm Debate, Scotland on Sunday, 5th April 2010

Boost for renewables as SSE takes 15% stake in BiFab, The Scotsman, 13th April 2010 

Helius closes in on £40m Scottish plant, The Scotsman, 20th April 2010

Information & Fees

- Full Rate £199 + VAT (Commercial; central government departments and agencies)

- Reduced Rate £149 + VAT (NHS, councils, trade unions, professional associations, academics)

- Discounted Rate £99 + VAT (charitable organisations with turnover under £1m)

Fees include lunch, refreshments and exclusive access to the post conference reports.

The event starts with coffee and registration from 9.00am.

Getting There

Musselburgh train station is a 2 minute walk from QMU. Train times from Edinburgh Waverley:

08:04, 08:38, 09:40, 10:37, 11:37, 12:37, 13:27, 14:21, 14:37, 15:38 

Trains from QMU to Edinburgh:

10:44, 11:44, 12:45, 13:45, 14:42, 15:25, 15:43, 16:45, 17:45, 18:11, 18:50, 19:15

The number 30 Lothian bus goes directly into the campus and runs approximately every 10 minutes. You can catch the number 30 from several bus stops on Princes Street.

Key Speaker: Jim Mather, Energy Minister
Venue: Queen Margaret University (Map Details)
Time: 24 May 2010, at 09:30