Scotland Excel is a not for profit company which works with councils and housing associations helping them to fight climate change.
The organisation is hosting a free webinar on 28 October 2021 as part of its Green Recovery campaign.
With some of the world’s most eminent environmentalist figures coming to Scotland for COP26 to discuss and plan what must be done to tackle the climate emergency, there would be few organisations in Scotland not considering what they need to do to become ‘greener’.
Scotland’s local authorities have already been driving change and working towards meeting The Scottish Government’s target to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045, which is five years ahead of the date set for the rest of the UK.
Since 2013, Scotland Excel, the national centre of procurement expertise for local government, has been embedding environmental benefits within their contracts to help councils and other public sector bodies tackle climate change.
The non-profit procurement service, which was founded in 2008, serves all 32 of Scotland’s local authorities and more than 100 members from the public and third sector. The body is now working with members on new sustainable procurement solutions that will benefit all.
Scotland Excel’s latest campaign, named Supporting Scotland’s Green Recovery, aims to help get Scotland moving again after the pandemic, but in the greenest and most sustainable way possible. The organisation is focused on the environmental impact of how its contracts operate and coming up with continuous ways of improving.
The City of Edinburgh Council has set an ambitious target to become a net-zero city by 2030 – a full fifteen years before the UK deadline. One strand of their sustainability strategy is to decarbonise transport across the city, including the development of an electric vehicle (EV) action plan to boost their EV charging infrastructure.
Scotland Excel’s upcoming framework for electric vehicle charging points will provide councils a quick and efficient way route to market for building their EV infrastructure to meet the unprecedented growth in the uptake of electric vehicles.
Another strand of The City of Edinburgh Council’s sustainability strategy is retrofitting council homes to make them more energy efficient. Scotland Excel is working on a new framework for energy efficiency contractors to help councils and social landlords upgrade their residential properties. This new framework reflects the aims of the Scottish Government’s Heat in Buildings Strategy, and will promote the development of sector skills.
With a keynote speech from Ivan McKee MSP, Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, the event provides an opportunity to hear from industry leaders how ‘innovation and collaboration between public, third and private sectors can accelerate action to tackle the climate emergency’. Videos from the conference will be available on Scotland Excel’s website after the event.
You can follow its campaign ‘Supporting Scotland’s Green Recovery’ on its website, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts and get involved in the debate using the hashtag #SupportingScotlandsGreenRecovery.
Further information about the organisation can be found on their website at www.scotland-excel.org.uk
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