Evaluating the Success Factors for Establishing a Thriving - Scottish ...

1.16 Where possible, ACE sought to recruit or build any required professional
expertise in-house (either among staff or voluntary directors) rather than rely on
outside advisors or business development support. As one founding director
put it “we have always largely made our own way” and another staff member
“we’ve always been ahead of the game”. However, ACE has benefited from
playing an active role in a variety of networks in the community enterprise and
community recycling fields (e.g. Community Recycling Network Scotland).
1.17 The influence of Clackmannanshire Council was also critical to development of
ACE. Various ACE insiders have talked about the importance of the foresight of
key individuals within the local authority, who were able to see the potential of
recycling services and who had the confidence in ACE to deliver on this vision.
This formed the basis for a strong and mutually beneficial partnership:
• for ACE the relationship created opportunities to test new services, helped
secure capital funding through the Landfill Tax Credits Scheme and other
sources, and brokered important connections with commercial partners; and
• in return ACE provided a flexible solution to the Council’s limited internal
capacity to respond to the emerging requirements being placed on it, and
helped place the Council at the forefront of recycling in Scotland.
1.18 Critical also in its development was the ability of ACE to work equally
comfortably with commercial partners as well as the public sector. For example,
its early expansion was assisted by a commercial collaboration formed with a
glass recycling plant based in Alloa. The agreement it then struck with ALCAN
(now Novellis) saw ACE become Scotland’s only processing centre for the
world’s largest aluminium can recycler.
1.19 While the pursuit of financial viability led ACE to increasingly deliver services
across the central belt of Scotland, it has always worked hard to retain its ‘local’
grounding in Clackmannanshire’. Where possible it has attempted to return
benefits to local communities. This has mainly been through local employment
benefits (taking on higher staff numbers and wages than is the industry
average, recruiting locally, and taking on a large proportion of workers from
disadvantaged backgrounds and with additional support needs). It has also
directly supported a range of community activities including charitable
fundraising (e.g. the Cash for Cans service which started in 1993) and work
with young people (e.g. schools recycling initiatives).
1.20 However, like most other business, bottom line financial performance has
fluctuated with ACE often operating at the margins of breakeven. One director
pointed to “some good years, some bad”, which meant that “it was seat of the
pants stuff at times”.
1.21 A number of limitations/obstacles to sustained growth and profitability have also
been reported including:
• the ability of ACE to make the substantial capital investment necessary to
take on larger service delivery contracts;
• logistical problems in providing services to other local authority areas in
which ACE had no base and looser local ties;
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