South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)

Round One was a closed tendering round to which those organisations that had completed a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) were invited to apply against five specifications. The five specifications were: Sustainable Procurement, Reduction, Reuse and Recycling, Sustainable Design and Innovation, Sustainable Construction and Sustainable Transport. Three projects were funded under Sustainable Design & Innovation, one project under Reduction, Reuse and Recycling, two under Sustainable Procurement and two under construction. There were no projects supported under Sustainable Transport as none of the proposals met the criteria of the Project Selection Committee, however, this is stated as a strategic priority for the next round.

The successful projects from Round One are:

Sustainable Supply Chains through Innovation - The Centre for Sustainable Design, University for the Creative Arts:

This proposal is from The Centre for Sustainable Design (CfSD), as lead partner together with Action Sustainability (AS) and Remade Southeast (R-SE) in response to your invitation to tender for a Sustainable Procurement project as part of the ERDF Competitiveness Programme 2007-2013. These three leading sustainability organisations believe by acting together we can offer best value to SEEDA in delivering an eco-innovative programme which will delivery against SEEDA’s overarching aims and objectives.

Our proposal is to deliver a programme of activity, ‘Sustainable Supply Chains
through Innovation’, which engages with SMEs throughout the South East, the
public sector and the public sector supply chain over a three year period. Our proposal demonstrates the depth of knowledge and relevant experience our partnership has in this arena. The three organisations bring significant reputations and experience; sustainable procurement (AS); sustainable innovation (CfSD); sustainability in SMEs (R-SE). All three organisations have a track record for successful engagement with SMEs and have worked together on projects, in partnership, in the past.

The project demonstrates added value through;

• Our track record in creating business opportunities for innovative SMEs through building the sustainability skills of procurement professionals
• The depth of knowledge and relevant experience our partnership has in the sustainable procurement arena in both the public sector and supply chains to the public sector.
• Our experience in stimulating innovation amongst SMEs
• Our knowledge of Regional Development Agencies, the NHS, RIEPs and local government procurement.

Over a three year period, the key output will be to assist 140 businesses to improve their performance, with 9 new jobs created and an increase in GVA of £1.5million.

PASS - Procurement and Sustainable Supply – Reading Borough Council:

This project is intended to increase the quantity and quality of sustainable products and services being provided for Public Sector contract by SMEs and Social Enterprises (SEs), through a programme of information, education and coaching. It will actively encourage SMEs and SEs to participate in tendering for Public Sector contracts by simplifying the processes and by instigating a standard for prequalification covering both normal provision and sustainable provision (low environmental impact provision) of products or services. This will ensure that access to Public Sector contracts is accessible to all, and build a register of those providers who embrace sustainable provision, either in their products, services or delivery of them.

The project will:

• Establish a Sustainable Procurement Adoption Ladder for the SMEs and SEs which will identify where an individual business is on a progressive scale, and provide them with realistic steps to improvement of their rating. The Adoption Ladder will also be used by the Public Sector to set a sustainable procurement standard for pre-qualification of framework providers. The project will bring the Public Sector organisations together to agree and publish a common set of specifications for sustainable procurement, and a Procurement Charter which would commit them to particular standards of engagement with providers. This would be shared with SMEs and SEs, and the Project would encourage the larger providers to the Public Sector to also sign up to the Charter for the benefit of their own supply chains.
• Promote use of the South East Business Portal (SEBP), an online resource for providers which will deliver information, documentation, guidance, listings, and publication of Public Sector supply opportunities.
• Develop an engagement template and a development framework that can be exported to other Public Sector partnerships in the South East region.

ZeroWISE Bulky Waste – Re-made South East:

Aim: The partnership aims to conduct an innovative research project to reduce volumes of waste going to landfill by finding recycling, re-use and energy –from waste solutions for bulky waste streams from public and private sector sources. The team will work with SMEs to indentify outlets for waste streams which currently have restricted markets. In achieving this objective SMEs will be providing innovative solutions for significant volumes currently being land filled.

Benefits:

• Assists local authorities and other organisations to meet recycling targets
• Supports SMEs to develop new business models
• Prolongs life of landfill sites in the South East
• Returns energy from contaminated items
• Boosts social enterprise by encouraging re-use schemes
• Supports new markets for waste resources

Delivery: The project team will work in the Medway and East Sussex areas over three years to carry out the following:

• Conduct a bulky waste survey in East Sussex and Medway to determine which waste streams require the most urgent solutions and to assess the amounts and volumes of the waste streams.
• Conduct trial activities to establish large scale markets for carpets, mattresses, large plastic items, wood, plasterboard and furniture.
• Operate a trial collection of bulky items from households and businesses
• Explore energy from waste solutions for heavily contaminated items such as carpets, mattresses and soft furnishings.

Remade South East will act as project coordinator and will manage the delivery of outputs from the project partners. Remade will also assist partners in the identification of new markets for difficult waste streams. Other partners include Medway Council, East Sussex County Council, MDJ Light Brothers, Neighbourhood Furiture Store (AmicusHorizon Group Ltd), Countryside Recycling Ltd, B. Ball Contractors Ltd, Kingsnorth Waste Management Ltd and Gypsum Recycling. This work will result in identifying a minimum of 6 new waste markets and will result in 30,000 tonnes of waste being diverted from landfill.

SMART – Marine South East:

The Sustainable MARine transformation (SMART) project will enhance the region’s GVA-per-capita performance by working with selected marine companies to ensure the adoption of sustainable design, production and resource utilisation practices.

The fundamental aim of the SMART project is to pilot, validate and disseminate an approach whereby marine sector SMEs can achieve a combination of economic and environmental performance improvement, with resulting social benefits. This will be achieved through identifying options for product design and process innovation, particularly those offering both bottom-line benefit and environmental footprint reduction, and replicating these benefits within the wider population of marine sector businesses (numbering around 4,000 across the SE region).

The aims will be achieved through targeting waste reduction, resource efficient manufacturing and higher value-add employment through improved product design and production. Socio-economic benefits will be maximised by stimulating measurable business improvement and promoting best practice and high-value, secure employment. Demonstrating the benefits enjoyed by participating businesses to other marine firms will ensure that the approach becomes self-supporting.

In this way, the project will consolidate existing service provision to meet the needs of a specific manufacturing sector, and in so doing will generate leverage for those services.

This project has been designed to fulfil the three objectives of the ERDF programme. The project will:

• raise levels of knowledge and innovation across the marine sector in order to support more resource efficient business practices, boosting profitability and long term competitiveness;
• stimulate innovation and job creation in ecologically-driven marine sub-sectors;
• reduce the rate of growth of the region’s ecological footprint whilst stimulating economic growth.

ZeroWISE Construction – Re-made South East:

The project aims to work towards a zero waste strategy by delivering a range of initiatives aimed at minimising the amount of construction waste going to landfill in the South East.

The partnership seeks to encourage construction companies to manage their waste streams in a more sustainable manner. This will be achieved by creating clusters of businesses including construction companies, waste companies and the suppliers of goods and services in order to gain economies of scale and promote shared best practice.

Delivery will be made through four business clusters in the following areas

• Brighton and East Sussex
• Ashford, East Kent and Thames Gateway
• Hants and Isle of Wight
• Oxfordshire

Partner organisations will assist in engaging companies from these areas in the completion of Site Waste Management Plans (SWMPs) and waste audits (75 of each) which will help construction companies to adopt sustainable waste management practices. This work will result in waste avoidance or landfill diversion of around 80,000 tonnes.

Contractors collecting building materials from sites in the four designated areas will be encouraged to work alongside construction companies, forming a re-use and recycling network. Initiatives will be put into place that will focus on reduction, re-use and recycling of construction waste (reverse logistics and take-back schemes, 80:20 supply, re-use networks, end markets for construction waste materials). Project partners will work with business partners and social enterprises to establish and expand Building Materials Re-use Centres (BMRCs) to divert a further 20,000 tonnes from landfill.

All participating construction companies as well as waste contractors, planners, architects and engineers will have access to a training package on SWMPs. A publicity campaign to raise awareness of sustainable best practice within the construction industry will be conducted over the three year project supported by sub -regional delivery partners.

PLATO: SUSTAIN – PLATO GB Ltd:

Using the successful PLATO peer group leadership and business development format PLATO: Sustain will stimulate behavioural change amongst 130 SME CEOs /senior managers, encouraging them to implement sustainable business and efficient resource practices through the use of sustainable design and innovation. This will lead to improved business performance plus a reduction in the region’s ecological footprint via:

• Raised awareness of the cost benefits of sustainable business practices;
• Increased business turnover from new and improved products and processes that have whole life costs built in at every stage of the process, from design to end of life;
• Improved resource efficiency reducing energy, waste and water usage;
• Financial savings from improved resource efficiency;
• Behaviour change which reduces the carbon footprint of individuals as employees;
• Better engagement with suppliers to develop ‘greener’ relationships maximising opportunities to improve environmental impact.

The project is designed for SME decision-makers. Through a unique partnership with large companies withy a track record of introducing sustainable business practices, innovative green technologies, and waste reduction strategies, the project will provide SMEs with facilitated group learning, specialist expertise and advice to adopt sustainable business, design and innovation practices, all designed to improve their performance.

"Action” based groups of 12-15 directors from diverse, non-competing industries will meet monthly over a two year period in a confidential environment where they can discuss and address a wide range of sustainable business, design and innovation issues, supporting each other to develop their businesses. Participants will share experiences and resources, to stimulate new ideas, and to support each other as they make the strategic decisions that determine how their businesses will grow.

The project brings together the expertise of PLATOGB Ltd, ngage solutions limited, and the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Sustainable Business Partnership.

Design & Innovation for Business Sustainability (DIBS) – WSX Enterprise:

Businesses in the SE need to play a major role if the region is to meet the RES target of stabilising the regional eco-footprint by 2016. Our proposed project recognises that an essential contribution to this can be made through improved product and service design.

There is considerable evidence that consumers are considering the impact of their environmental behaviour and that the market for sustainably designed products is responding to this. Recent reports also emphasise the potential for businesses to cut costs through adoption of sustainable design principles2. These and key drivers related to producer responsibility legislation are reflected in the increasing demand for sustainable design services seen by Envirowise over the last 3 years. Uptake of the former DesignTrack visits increased 100% in 2006/7 compared to 2005/6, with a further 60% increase in 2007/8.

The Design Council estimates that over 80% of the quantities and costs of materials and utilities consumed by a product are locked in at the design stage. Focusing on the built environment, manufacturing, food industry packaging and service sectors, we propose a catalytic programme, Design and Innovation for Business Sustainability (DIBS), which will:

• stimulate action among SMEs that would benefit from adopting sustainable design principles, helping ensure these make a significant contribution to the step change required to meet RES targets
• provide tools to facilitate such action, support innovation and meet related producer responsibility legislation
• contribute to reducing the region’s CO2 emissions and eco-footprint
• achieve significant costs savings and competitive advantage – hence economic benefits for the region as a whole.

In meeting these aims, the proposed team will bring considerable added value from their core service experience - including Designing Demand within WSX and the former DesignTracks within Envirowise. A pan-regional approach will ensure active transfer of knowledge from better to poorer performing parts of the region through targeted information dissemination and marketing via the Regional Business Link network and associated partners.

SMART – Business Support Kent:

The adoption of sustainable construction (SC) technologies and materials by the building industry is critical to the achievement of SEEDA’s Climate Change and Ecological Footprint targets. Increasing demand for SC products also presents construction SMEs with major opportunities to develop new business.

However this growth potential is being constrained by a lack of awareness by construction SMEs concerning which SC materials and technologies are most suitable for their own businesses. They find the array of different SC products confusing, and there is no one place where they can obtain the practical information they need.

This Project will address these barriers and support a significant increase in the uptake of SC products by construction SMEs across the SEEDA region. This will be achieved by:

• Bringing together a unique Partnership of national and regional SC experts to develop and deliver an integrated package of SC briefing modules and workshops. These will focus on those SC products which are proven, readily available to SMEs and optimise environmental and economic impact. The briefings will provide practical information on product availability, performance and economics and cover the fully range of SC product areas including renewable energy, energy and water efficiency, sustainable and recycled materials and SC design.
• Deploying key regional brokerage and sector support Partners (Business Links and the SEEDA Sector Consortia), and a region wide promotional campaign, to ensure the programme is taken up by construction SMEs across the SEEDA region.
• Working with Local Authority Partners who will include the briefing workshops within their campaigns to promote the adoption of SC products within their own new build and refurbishment programmes. These and other Partners will also provide demonstration centres where participating SMEs can see the technologies first hand.