East of England Regional Economic Strategy

Resource Efficiency

Priorities

Priority 1: Improving resource efficiency through behavioural change

Non-renewable resources are being consumed at an unsustainable level. With rising prices and increasing concern over energy supply, the price and availability of resources is becoming a priority for many businesses. Electricity prices for the non-domestic sector have risen by 60 per cent in real terms between 2002 and 2007 and gas by 64 per cent over the same period, while prices for copper and lead have tripled since 2004. Such rises are likely to increase further as markets respond to imbalance between supply and global demand.

Minimising resource-use is therefore a key to the profitability of businesses, the development of a sustainable economy and to meeting growing consumer expectation of high environmental standards. The regional economic strategy (RES) sets the challenging target of reducing waste arisings per £ million GVA to 37 per cent below 2005 levels by 2031. Achieving this is consistent with the regional ambitions around economic performance if bold policies are enacted to de-couple economic growth from resource-use. Resource Efficiency requires attention at all stages of the product life-cycle, from design and material specification, through efficiency in use, to end-of-life recovery in resources. To be fully effective, this requires changing the behaviour of individuals, businesses and organisations.

Poor information can affect our consumption and production choices. Organisations or individuals may not change behaviour, due to a lack of enabling services or infrastructure. Actions under the Transport, Digital Economy and Spatial Economy goals are particularly relevant to this agenda.

The East of England currently has one of the highest levels of resource-use of the UK regions. The region has already made progress on a number of fronts: increasing the levels of renewable energy generating capacity and recycling, as well as developing a supportive policy framework for resource efficiency. However, more needs to be done to position the region as among the best in Europe on this agenda. The RES sets the challenging ambition of reducing end-user CO₂ emissions to 60 per cent below 1990 levels by 2031 and to reduce emissions of other greenhouse gases. This would put us on course for an 80 per cent reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2050, the position many scientists now believe needs to be achieved to avert climate change.

Priority 2: Leading the UK in sustainable energy production

The East of England has a strong skills and science base for energy technologies. The region has a rich history of energy generation and supply, including supplying nearly half of the UK’s domestic gas needs, provision of nuclear energy, as well as being the leading region for renewable generating capacity.

The region will continue to require a broad sustainable energy infrastructure. The proposed levels of growth in the East of England present a major opportunity for widespread deployment of renewable and low-carbon energy technologies, both offshore and onshore. In particular, the region will need to continue to maximise its potential in the wind, bio-renewables and on-site renewables arenas. There are also significant opportunities in further R&D and technology development for offshore renewables through wind, wave and tidal and in carbon-abatement technologies such as carbon capture and storage. This goal of the RES sets the ambition of renewable sources accounting for 20 per cent of energy generation by 2020 and maintaining the region’s lead position through to 2031.^xxx

Regional companies and universities have specialist expertise in elements of the wider energy supply chain, and developing new capacity and generation presents a major opportunity to create new businesses, jobs and investment.

Priority 3: Increasing share of environmental goods and services markets

Environmental goods and services businesses run across the broad spectrum of sectors and the East of England is well placed in all parts of the supply chain. The region has a wealth of environmental technology-focused university and research establishments, related specialisms within its agriculture, energy and engineering sectors, as well as expertise in understanding and adapting to the impacts of climate change.

The region also has the third highest level of employment in the environmental sector in the UK and the second highest number of companies. The business support needs of the sector are the same as the wider economy - investment, innovation, strengthening the skills base, business management and support.

The focus on climate change, changing targets, regulation and consumer demands, increases the opportunities for the sector. Indeed, many opportunities exist to use technologies or redesigned processes to reduce costs and save resource. The Spatial Economy goal recognises the business opportunities from retro-fitting to existing buildings and from enhancing the natural environment. Growth in global markets presents a major export opportunity, particularly in mature markets such as pollution control, water, waste and other materials management. In this area, our export growth lags behind that of international competitors and we are less successful in exploiting research. While we must strengthen the science base, we must also stimulate demand, enabling near-market technologies to become viable.

Priority 4: Making the East of England a water-efficient region

Water is a fundamental resource requirement for the economy, supporting industry, services and households. Research undertaken for the RES finds that the trend towards water efficiency in manufacturing is already strong, but the coming growth in population and the services sector will put additional pressure on this scarce resource. The East of England is the UK’s driest region and the lack of a national grid for water means there are limited opportunities to draw on surpluses elsewhere in the country. Even with the planned investment in infrastructure by water companies, there is an urgent need to stabilise and reduce per capita use. The Environment Agency has estimated that, without additional policies, the region could move into deficit by the early 2030s.

The RES sets the challenge of steadily reducing per capita household water use to achieve a 20 per cent reduction on the levels in 2008 by 2030 (from around 150l/h/d to 120l/h/d). This will require incorporating high, water-efficient standards into future development, reducing leakage rates, increasing the efficiency of existing buildings and behavioural change in how we use water in our homes and businesses. Introducing water-saving measures also benefits resource efficiency more generally. For example, using less water can reduce trade effluent. Tackling over-abstraction will also benefit the ecology of rivers and wetlands and the tourism and fisheries sectors they support.

Implementation priorities

• coordinated action to implement Local Area Agreement commitments to reducing carbon emissions and increasing recycling rates
• reinforcing the East of England's position as the UK's leading region in renewable energy infrastructure through a positive planning framework, applied R&D and supply chain development
• increasing demand for, and the viability of, near-market environmental technologies through public-sector procurement, business support and finance
• providing high-quality business support to enable businesses to improve their resource efficiency and profitability
• a network of private sector and university centres of excellence for applied research in environmental technologies, goods and services
• creating a regional system that reduces waste arisings and manages waste effectively
• raising standards for water efficiency in new-build and supporting a major retrofit programme through a regional centre of excellence for water efficiency.

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