Member Article

Green economy presents huge growth opportunity

The green economy presents a huge growth opportunity for the UK economy, according to a report by the New Anglian Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The Green Economy Pathfinder Manifesto sets out a 25 point plan which ensures that the UK can maintain a competitive advantage, and capitalise on the opportunities the green economy will present in the coming years.

New Anglia has been charged by the Government to lead on the development of the green economy, and to report back with recommendations on how to capitalise on the opportunities it could present.

Andy Wood, chief executive of Adnams and chairman of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We firmly believe that the green economy is a golden opportunity to create thousands of new jobs for the UK economy over the next few years.

“With our world leading scientific base and forwarding thinking businesses, the New Anglia area is well placed to lead this development, creating new sustainable jobs and ensuring the UK remains a world leader in this field.

“We are looking for clear Government support to help us drive forward this agenda.”

The LEP have produced a manifesto entitled “Leading the Way”, which reveals that the low carbon goods sector was worth £112 billion to the UK in 2009/10, and currently employs 1 million people.

This number is expected to continue growing over the next few years, and the New Anglia LEP is now calling for a number of measures to be implemented to ensure the UK can establish itself as a global leader in the green marketplace.

This includes ensuring businesses looking to invest in manufacturing for the offshore renewables industry receive the most comprehensive support possible, encouraging local authorities to take the lead on the thermal insulation of their property portfolios, optimising the drawdown of European funding and other funding sources to support the growth of the green economy, and encouraging much greater investment in micro-generation and renewables.

Business and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk said: “The Green Manifesto is a clear example of how local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) are bringing partners together to deliver real and sustainable growth in our local economies.

“It is fantastic to see the New Anglia LEP playing an active role in identifying barriers to growth and taking action to boost the green economy in the region.

“We now have 39 LEPs across the country that are actively identifying growth issues in their area and this is a real example of how LEPs are moving forward and getting things done.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .