West Midlands Local Industrial Strategy: Low Carbon Sector Action Plan
The West Midlands is one of three trailblazing regions to develop the first Local Industrial Strategies. The West Midlands Local Industrial Strategy has now been published and Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) has been tasked with producing a number of action plans for the key sectors identified in the Local Industrial Strategy, including the Low Carbon and Environmental Technologies sector. The aim is to home-in on actions that will help low carbon businesses to grow, creating good jobs for our people.
The Low Carbon & Environmental Technology sector is expected to grow dramatically in response to the escalating concern about climate change and the need to decarbonise our economy. The sector is expected to grow by 11% per year between 2015-2030 across the UK, which is 4 times the growth rate of the UK economy overall.
The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) are currently developing the region’s Low Carbon Energy Action Plan. The Action Plan will outline key opportunities for economic growth within the West Midlands and help businesses in Greater Birmingham & Solihull, Coventry & Warwickshire and Black Country LEP areas take advantage of the transition to a greener economy.
Ecuity hosted a series of focus groups in October 2019 to enable local businesses active in the energy and environmental sector to have their say on the Action Plan and to ensure it is developed in line with the needs and wants of businesses within the region. The focus groups discussed the proposals in detail to enable the GBSLEP to create an action plan that is ambitious and supports the growth of low carbon businesses in the region.
They would now like businesses in the sector to respond to a survey which will shape the the kind of interventions that could be taken forward in the West Midlands. The survey should take around 20 minutes to complete. Please feel free to skip some of the questions to focus on answering the ones which are of most interest to you and your business.