SWM News December 2018 - Will 2019 be the year of action?

As always in the world of sustainability it's been a year of highs and lows. 2018 will reportedly be the year when global carbon emissions reach an all time high, increasing by more than 2% in a year. The IPCC Special Report into Climate Change highlighted the immediate need for action which we discussed at our Annual Conference. Our own reporting on progress towards our 2020 Roadmap confirms that health inequality is still a challenge in many areas of the West Midlands.

However, we see many areas of policy moving in the right direction. The draft Environment Bill published yesterday includes details of a new system of green governance, and measures to improve air quality, biodiversity, and water management. The Resource and Waste Strategy published on Tuesday, includes many bold initiatives to move to a more circular economy, building on commitments in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Clean Growth Strategy. These frameworks will shape activity over the coming years.

For SWM, 2018 has undoubtedly been a successful year. We've grown our team, giving us more capacity to support organisations and run our networks. We've grown our membership, particularly in the private sector, and improved our membership offer. Our advice has been called upon by a broad range of organisations and we're busy with both local and national projects. Our brand new video showcases what we do and includes many of our stakeholders.

We're optimistic about next year. We'll see the development and publication of West Midlands Local Industrial Strategies with the Midlands Energy Hub supporting all of our LEPs to deliver low carbon energy projects. Birmingham City Council will implement their Clean Air Zone and develop infrastructure for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. We'll continue to strive to ensure that all activities across the West Midlands bring sustainability benefits to our communities and businesses.

Heartfelt thanks for your support this year and here's to more great work in 2019. Wishing all of our stakeholders a very Merry Christmas.

Anna Bright, Chief Executive, on behalf of the SWM Team

Funding opportunities

By 2 January 2019. The UK Government has announced a funding competition to be used to develop an app for disabled users of public transport.

By 9 January 2019. The UK Government has launched funding for innovative ideas to reduce air pollution, specifically as a result of road transport and industrial vehicles.

By 21 January 2019. BEIS is funding feasibility studies for industrial fuel switching.

By 22 January 2019. A Horizon 2020 call is open to strengthen Europe’s industry in environmental sustainability, through use of mature and disruptive technologies.

By 22 January 2019. Google has issued a call to organisations to submit their ideas for how they could use AI to help address social and environmental challenges.

By 28 February 2019. The ERDF Business Growth Programme has been extended. This is to help SMEs grow in selected areas in the West Midlands.

By 1 March 2019. Youth groups can receive up to 80% towards the costs of providing environmental outreach education for groups of disadvantaged young people.

By 6 March 2019. Businesses can apply for funding that support the design, build and manufacture of zero and low emission vehicles and technologies.

By May 2019. SMEs can benefit from the Keele Research and Innovation Support Programme (KRISP) to help develop products, processes or services.

By June 2019. Businesses in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent can benefit from a £5m funding pot towards expanding business premises or renovating under-utilised areas.

By October 2019. SMEs can obtain free energy audits and 40% grant funding towards energy efficiency measures in Greater Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country.

On-going. The Community and Environment Fund is to provide benefits to communities along the route disrupted by the construction of HS2.

On-going. BEIS funding of around £162m is available in industrial research and innovation, including Carbon Capture, Use and Storage (CCUS).

On-going. £320m is being made available in UK for heat network projects.as part of the Heat Network Investment Project (HNIP).

On-going. Shropshire SME Manufacturers can apply for small grants to help part-fund a business improvement project and grow the business.

Over the past year we have promoted >£700 million of accessible funding.

Upcoming SWM and member events

University of Birmingham is running an ERDF-funded Process Monitoring Workshop for SMEs on 31 January 2019.

Meres and Mosses Business Environment Network is hosting an event on 6 February 2019 focusing on the importance of good water quality.

University of Wolverhampton's EnTRESS team is running a Climate Resilient Infrastructure event on 22 February 2019, focusing on adapting infrastructure to the impacts of climate change.

sben will be providing an update on environmental legislation at their Legal Updating Event on 27 February 2019.

sben will be raising awareness of the Green Business Fund and their Low Carbon Business Evolution Programme at an event on 14 March 2019.

SWM is a partner in next June's Flood & Coast conference, aiming to deliver excellence in flood management. Early bird prices on exhibitor packages are open until the end of the year.

A full list of upcoming events is available here as well as our full member list here.

Other SWM and member updates

SWM welcomes new member Bryt Energy, on a mission to take British businesses on a carbon-reducing journey with zero carbon, 100% renewable electricity.

SWM welcomes new member Meres & Mosses Business Environment Network, working to assist growth and profitability of businesses in an environmentally sustainable manner.

SWM welcomes new member International Synergies, a company that joins together organisations producing waste a bi-products with those who can make use of them.

SWM has published its latest report reflecting how our members and stakeholders perceive the progress against our roadmap through analysis of our recent customer survey.

SWM ran its latest Annual Conference on 3 December: ‘Local Industrial Strategies – A Clean Revolution for the West Midlands?' You can now view the slides and outputs.

SWM, in partnership with the Innovation Alliance for the West Midlands, ran it's 20th Innovative Low Carbon Working Group meeting on 6 December at the Manufacturing Technology Centre.

Cenex is currently advertising for three positions, including two technical roles and one business development manager. Applications are due in by end of December.

Coventry University is looking for a Sustainable Transport Manager, responsible for providing expertise in travel planning across the University Group. Closing date 13 January 2019.

Boningale Nurseries is looking to recruit a Horticultural Purchasing Manager with experience of project management and strong numeracy and analytical skills.

Marches Energy Agency is looking to recruit a new volunteer trustee to sit on their board four times a year and shape the changes of the organisation.

Marches Energy Agency is also looking for two volunteers; one to support with their grants and another to support their marketing and promotional aspects.

Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust, our new members, has won an award for recycling surplus hospital equipment and furniture, making savings of £80,000.

SportsArt UK has developed fitness equipment where energy produced during a cardio workout can be harnessed to reduce a gym’s overall electricity consumption.

Severn Trent has published some advice to customers on how to protect the water pipes in their homes to prevent them from freezing when the temperatures drop.

Environment Agency has published advice for this winter on what to do in case of a flood, in order to mitigate risks to your own life, home and business.

sben has been successful in securing an extension to its Low Carbon Business Evolution Programme (LCBEP), supporting SMEs in Stoke & Staffordshire with reducing their energy bills.

Staffordshire County Council is looking for organisations to tender for the provision of energy efficiency reviews for businesses to help support the LCBEP programme.

Keele and Aston Universities were award winners at the recent Green Gown Awards - huge congratulations to our members!

Three of our university members are involved in the Energy Research Accelerator, which has published a report looking at their collective energy research strengths.

Energy Systems Catapult has written a report looking at the potential, opportunities and barriers around implementing district heating networks.

SWM recently supported the Black Country Technical Assistance Team by running four workshops to help encourage the uptake of remaining European funding.

SWM members can send their events, research or other contributions to enquiries@swm.org.uk to be included in the next newsletter. Not a member? There are many advantages to SWM membership; find out more here.

Other news and events

Defra has published its long-awaited Resources & Waste Strategy; have a look at SWM's overview and how we intend to respond to the strategy's ambitions.

The Met Office has published the latest version of the UK Climate Projections, outlining how the climate will change in the UK up to 2100. This supersedes the previous UKCP09 interface.

BEIS has published its Bioeconomy Strategy, outlining the approach that government, industry and the research community will take to harness the power of bioscience and technology.

Birmingham City Council has published its business case for the clean air zone to be implemented within the inner ring-road in Birmingham.

For a full list of all our upcoming events, visit our events page here. For news items, visit our news page here.