Industry commits to green investment

Meanwhile, the Government has pledged to bring 400,000 clean energy jobs as part of a plan to double the number of people working in green industries by 2030. To help ensure people have the skills needed, five new ‘technical training centres’ will be established to train young people for essential roles. Skills pilots in Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire will be backed by £2.5m – which could go towards new training centres, courses or career advisers. The Government is also working with Mission Renewable, an Armed Forces engagement initiative for the UK Renewable Sector,  to match up ex-military – a great deal of whom already have many of the required skills – with careers in clean energy. Whether the overall skills needed are actually delivered though, time will tell, particularly when compounded with existing skills shortages across industry.

Regardless of the attitudes of the Government and opposition, Britain’s manufacturers are powering ahead with investment in green technologies, with the vast majority planning to include a commitment to green growth in their business plans over the next five years.  The findings come in a major report from Make UK, Manufacturing a sustainable future – capitalising on green technologies, which reveals that manufacturers are more committed than ever to net zero, with more than 8 out of 10 companies planning to invest in green growth, in particular prioritising renewable energy. In addition, a previous Make UK survey  found that more than 9 in 10 companies (92%) believe the transition to net zero is important for their business.

However, barriers to further investments remain, in particular the fact investments in energy efficient technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines or low-carbon heating systems face higher rateable values and, as a result, such investments are in effect penalising companies by increasing the value of their factories and therefore their business rates.

In response, Make UK is urging the Government to announce in the Budget that these investments will be removed from business rates calculations given more than 4 in 10 companies (44%) say this is holding back investment in green technologies. This factor is a greater barrier than even the cost of energy (41%), so let’s just hope that the Government takes heed.

Charlotte Stonestreet

Editor