Towards Zero Podcast - how to end the climate crisis by wasting less

... we head to the Highlands where two firms have joined forces to create some of Scotland’s tastiest-sounding solutions to the climate crisis. 

Lewis Maclean from Maclean’s Highland Bakery and Nigel Tiddy at Windswept Brewing Company talk about how Zero Waste Scotland helped them get together to turn waste from the brewery into sustainable new biscuits.  

Nigel has also worked with local barley farmers on a sustainable new beer called Pioneer.  

Wasted food is a key cause of carbon emissions, with food and drink manufacturers estimated to cause a quarter of Scotland’s total food waste. Zero Waste Scotland is helping hundreds of firms find innovative ways to value resources instead of wasting them, creating the sustainable products, jobs and businesses we need to Build Back Better. 

Find out more: 

Zero Waste Scotland provides a range of expert advice and support to help everyone waste less to cut the carbon emissions behind the climate crisis. 

Our Circular Cities and Regions programme was pioneered in Glasgow where we joined forces with the council and chamber of commerce to help businesses and communities.

We now work on the programme with councils and chambers across Scotland including our newest circular region, the Highlands and Islands.

Zero Waste Scotland’s Circular Economy Business Support Service (CEBSS) provides tailored, one-to-one expert advice for small and medium sized businesses across all sectors in Scotland. 

It’s designed to help companies do business differently to help end the climate crisis by finding more circular ways of working, including alternative supply chains. This can increase resource efficiency, profitability, product quality and customer base. 

Circular economy business models include sharing resources, modular design, re-use and repair, reprocessing and remanufacturing. 

Zero Waste Scotland’s Circular Economy Investment Fund (CEIF), which is financed through the European Regional Development Fund, supports innovative businesses to reduce waste and emissions, create sustainable jobs and attract further investment.  Nearly £10m has been awarded through the CEIF so far. To apply for funding or find out more click here. 

Our Circular Economy Accelerator provides free support to help businesses like Maclean’s Highland Bakery find ways to increase the value of wasted byproducts. We also provide free online virtual food waste audits for businesses like Maclean’s and Windswept, funded by the Scottish Government. These consultations have already helped almost 300 companies waste less food and money, typically saving firms around £5,000 each per year. 

For more on how Zero Waste Scotland helped Maclean’s Highland Bakery and the Windswept Brewing Company turn waste into value by doing business differently read their story in our Food Waste Reduction Action Plan here.  (see page 40) 

For more information on Windswept Brewing Company’s Pioneer beer and the Field to Firkin project click here.

To find out more about Maclean’s Highland Bakery click here. 

...we take a virtual visit to Glasgow as Scotland’s largest city gears up to host COP26, the latest global climate crisis talks.

We talk to Jo Chidley, who is cutting carbon emissions in the beauty industry and beyond through her simple ‘return, refill, repeat’ service – reusing bottles and jars to eradicate vast amounts of needless single-use packaging for everyday products like shampoo.

Jo’s start-up, Beauty Kitchen, is pioneering refill stations with supermarket Asda and global brand giant Unilever, which makes popular household products from Persil to PG tips. 

Beauty Kitchen is scaling up with support from Zero Waste Scotland, including a paid ‘green’ intern helping Jo expand her refill stations across Glasgow.

Find out more:

Zero Waste Scotland provides a range of expert advice and support to help everyone waste less to cut the carbon emissions behind the climate crisis.

Our Circular Cities and Regions programme was pioneered in Glasgow where we joined forces with the council and chamber of commerce to help businesses and communities. We now work on the programme with councils and chambers across Scotland including our newest circular region, the Highlands and Islands.

Zero Waste Scotland’s Circular Economy Business Support Service (CEBSS) provides tailored, one-to-one expert advice for small and medium sized businesses across all sectors in Scotland.

It’s designed to help companies do business differently to help end the climate crisis by finding more circular ways of working, including alternative supply chains. This can increase resource efficiency, profitability, product quality and customer base.

Circular economy business models include sharing resources, modular design, re-use and repair, reprocessing and remanufacturing.

Zero Waste Scotland is developing a national green internship scheme as part of the Scottish Government’s Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan. A trial at Beauty Kitchen was part of ongoing work with other organisations on the scheme, which aims to give young people paid work experience to help create the skilled net-zero workforce needed to end the climate crisis.

Our Circular Economy Investment Fund (CEIF), which is financed through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), supports innovative businesses to reduce waste and emissions, create sustainable jobs and attract further investment.

Nearly £10m has been awarded through the CEIF so far. To apply for funding or find out more click here.

The Islands Green Recovery Programme Refill Fund, financed by £600,000 from the Scottish Government and ERDF, is administered by Zero Waste Scotland to provide grants to help shops across Scotland’s isles switch from disposable packaging to reusable options.  

For more information on how Beauty Kitchen is eradicating waste to help end the climate crisis click here.

...we explore the thriving future of work.

One in ten jobs across Scotland already helps to reduce waste and carbon emissions by keeping limited resources in a loop of use through the circular economy. We need to score ten out of ten if we’re going to end the climate crisis. That brings valuable opportunities to learn, share and adapt new and existing skills and create thousands of new jobs across all sectors nationwide.

We talk to Mark Herring from National Grid ESO about how the UK’s energy sector is recruiting the net zero workforce we need with 400,000 posts nationwide from engineers to data analysts.

James Barry drops in from Renewable Parts wind turbine refurbishment specialist to share the inspiring story of a sustainable Scottish business which is not just surviving but thriving.

Iain Gulland joins us from Zero Waste Scotland to discuss the challenges and opportunities which doing business differently brings. From homeworking to turning waste from whisky into valuable new products, there are countless ways to help make every job green.

Find out more

Zero Waste Scotland provides a range of expert advice and support to help everyone waste less to cut the carbon emissions behind the climate crisis. The circular economy reduces waste and creates sustainable jobs by keeping goods and materials in a loop of use to make things last as long as possible. That means reducing, reusing, repairing, remaking and finally recycling everything.

Our Circular Economy Investment Fund (CEIF), which is financed through the European Regional Development Fund, supports innovative businesses to reduce waste and emissions, create sustainable jobs and attract further investment.

Nearly £10m has been awarded through the CEIF so far.

Our Circular Economy Business Support Service (CEBSS) provides tailored, one-to-one expert advice for small and medium sized businesses across all sectors in Scotland.

It’s designed to help companies do business differently to help end the climate crisis by finding more circular ways of working, including alternative supply chains. This can increase resource efficiency, profitability, product quality and customer base.

Circular economy business models include sharing resources, modular design, re-use and repair, reprocessing and remanufacturing.

Read more about the thousands of existing and future sustainable, circular economy jobs in key sectors including construction, energy and the bioeconomy in Future of Work report. The report was written in partnership with Circle Economy.

For more information on Renewable Parts click here.

For more information on the National Grid’s Net Zero energy workforce click here.

...we explore the fascinating future of food.

Wasted food is a major cause of the climate crisis. Each year in Scotland alone we collectively waste over £1billion worth of food from our homes. Insect farming might sound like a joke but it’s a serious business opportunity to turn Scotland’s waste into value.

We talk to Zero Waste Scotland’s, Dr William Clark, who probably knows more than anyone in Scotland about how Scottish insect farms can help to produce the sustainable food supply we need - reducing waste and emissions and creating green jobs too.

Laurence Webb from Tesco joins us to explain why the UK’s largest supermarket is keen on insect farming too as part of growing efforts to help combat climate change by working with its suppliers to make customers’ shopping far more sustainable.

Rosie Jack from Fife food and drink hub, Bowhouse, also drops in for a chat about how as a small, Scottish business it’s working with Zero Waste Scotland and local food producers to make a big difference to food waste.

Find out more

Zero Waste Scotland provides a range of expert advice and support to help everyone waste less to help end the climate crisis.

Our Love Food Hate Waste programme provides simple, tasty tips to help everyone waste less food. Read our community newsletter.

Our experts provide free online virtual food waste audits for businesses, funded by the Scottish Government and the European Regional Development Fund.  These consultations have already helped almost 300 companies waste less food and money, typically saving firms around £5,000 each per year.

Our ongoing Food Redistribution Matchmaking service was launched during the 2020 Covid pandemic to prevent food waste by connecting suppliers with surplus produce after their traditional markets shutdown with organisations such as charities which need food.

For more on reducing food waste read Scotland’s Food Waste Reduction Action Plan.

For more on how we can produce and consume our food differently to help end the climate crisis read Zero Waste Scotland’s Future of Food report.

Turning muck into brass: Read our guide on how to become an insect farmer.

Our research on the economic benefits of insect farming is here

Images of black soldier fly:

Contact:

Zero Waste Scotland bioeconomy expert, William.clark@zerowastescotland.org.uk

For more information on Bowhouse food hub click here.

For more information on Tesco’s sustainability work with WWF click here.