RWM Ambassadors call for resource efficiency to play more central role in Industrial Strategy

Leading industry figures welcome opportunity to input to government’s ‘Building our Industrial Strategy’ green Paper

The RWM Ambassadors, who champion economic growth through environmentally sound and sustainable methods, have issued a formal response to the government’s Building Our Industrial Strategy Green Paper, and called for an open dialogue to further develop the strategy. The Ambassadors are a group of leading industry figures from across business, public sector, academia and community groups, chaired by Barry Dennis, former director general of the Environmental Services Association.

In an open letter to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) submitted during the consultation period for the Green Paper, the RWM ambassadors presented three recommendations to inform the future direction of the Industrial Strategy.

1. Resource efficiency – vital to delivering greater economic value. While the Green Paper highlights labour productivity as key to future competitiveness, the RWM Ambassadors believe that this must be complemented by resource productivity for all industries, across the 10-pillar strategy.
2. Green procurement is a central pillar to clean growth, able to deliver both environmental and business advantages, and this concept should be developed much more strongly in the strategy.
3. Within a supportive policy environment, resource productivity in the UK will depend on new technologies and infrastructure capable of supporting more circular resource flows to and through businesses, and such a network needs a new approach to planning.

RWM Chairman Barry Dennis said, “The diverse group of leading industry figures that make up the RWM Ambassadors welcomes the opportunity to input into the Building Our Industrial Strategy Green Paper, and we recognise its importance and links to other policy initiatives. In fact, we see this as the most important current policy initiative from UK government.

“The 10-pillar approach is sound, but we call on the government to position resource efficiency as a key cross-pillar component. It must be recognised that the way we manage our valuable energy, water, materials and land resources is integral our productivity goals, and to driving our One Planet Living agenda. Resource productivity should be afforded the same priority under this strategy as labour productivity – without it, clean growth is unlikely.”

The RWM Ambassadors’ open letter to BEIS is intended to start a dialogue with the Industrial Strategy team for future input. The open letter also invites the Minister and the Industrial Strategy team to attend RWM from 12 to 14 September at the NEC in Birmingham, where the Strategy will be a key topic with influencers and innovators from the energy, water, recycling, renewables and waste management sectors.

A full copy of the Open Letter is attached to this press release.

Access the BEIS Building Our Industrial Strategy Green Paper here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/building-our-industrial-strategy