Scotland’s ambition is to be at the forefront of social and technological progress

A significant change is needed to make Scotland both more low carbon efficient and also a more resilient, desirable place to do business. Therein lies the opportunity - Scottish businesses that gain strengths in resource efficiency and environmental innovation will become increasingly valuable in global markets.

Scotland’s ambition is to be at the forefront of social and technological progress. In May the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced new funding to support Scottish entrepreneurs, with a £650,000 investment into Entrepreneurial Scotland (ES).

The Scottish Government is keen to encourage an entrepreneurial focus in Scotland’s future, through individuals, social enterprises and across government and the public sector.

ES is at the forefront of this movement and its strategy – A Vision for 2030 – positions the entrepreneurial virtuous cycle as a key tool for success. The cycle is a simple one – entrepreneurial leaders drive changes which create value for society, which are embedded in the culture and go on to inspire future entrepreneurs.

One way Scotland is engaging its entrepreneurial community is through the Saltire Fellows, the next generation of Scotland’s brightest entrepreneurs. They are being tasked with tackling some of the biggest environmental challenges of our time to see how that virtuous cycle can unlock Scotland’s potential. 

Entrepreneurial Scotland has recently partnered with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) on a Sustainable Growth Agreement to create further opportunities for environmental and social success in Scotland. Last year Fellows were set the challenge of looking into the global issue of waste tyres, with the outputs feeding directly into the forthcoming sector plan that SEPA will be consulting on soon. This year the Fellows will focus on the global issue of plastics

James Stuart, managing director of ES, believes that a cooperative approach is vital to tackle a challenge that affects every business sector. “A year ago we took the opportunity to work together with SEPA, recognising that while there is much talk about the scale of the problem it’s much more difficult to actually engage effectively with it. This joint approach allows us to look through a different lens and bring an entrepreneurial mindset to the project”

Terry A’Hearn, chief executive officer at SEPA, agrees that there is a real challenge. “It is estimated that if everyone lived the lifestyle of us in Scotland, we would need almost three planets. We only have one. If we are to make a shift to a one-planet lifestyle we will need massive change. Everything we do has to be reinvented and reshaped and as a species we need to become more entrepreneurial.”

Scotland needs to be more innovative and more collaborative, and it needs new, and perhaps unusual, partnerships to succeed.

Stuart believes the partnership between ES and SEPA is important for success: “We have the corporate knowledge of a big team with superb expertise and SEPA brings its own particular skills with people trained to think in a particular way to address the challenge of climate change. With a united approach we can bring things into the crosshairs of where these skill sets come together.”

A’Hearn agrees: “The scale of environmental challenges facing humanity is enormous, with a real urgency to act. Poor leaders are going to pretend it isn’t a problem, good leaders will face the reality of the situation. Great leaders will understand that it is an opportunity. Only those that embrace the economic opportunity of sustainable solutions to environmental challenges will thrive. Which is where Scotland’s entrepreneurial mindset comes in.”