A joined-up just transition for Scotland

A joined-up 

just transition 

for Scotland 

2021 

Virtual Conference Review

Climate change is 

the greatest economic 

opportunity of 

our lifetime. 

Martin Valenti, Event Chair and Director for Net Zero, 

South of Scotland Enterprise 

27 partners across Scotland’s 

innovation, research and 

policy landscape 

489 

delegates 

27 

70 

489 6 

70 inspiring and 

informed speakers 

6 themed stages 

and networking areas 

In brief: COP26 

COP26 – or the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties - took place in Glasgow in 

October-November 2021. It brought together thousands of heads of state, climate experts and 

campaigners to agree action to tackle climate change. It also allowed Scotland and Scottish businesses 

to showcase our climate action ambitions and achievements to a global audience. 

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described it as “one of the most important events ever held in Scotland”. 

2 

Full agenda, speaker profiles and videos of all sessions at: https://newsquestscotlandevents.com/events/cop26-just-transition/

In October 2021, just a few days before COP26, some of Scotland’s leading 

innovators and changemakers came together to: 

• Explore the just transition to net zero 

• Map the speed and scale at which Scotland must tackle climate change 

• Ensure no one is left behind 

Delivered by CENSIS in partnership with 27 organisations across innovation, policy, research and industry, 

the event looked at priorities and opportunities in six specific themes: 

Skills Development 

Public Sector Services 

Built Environment 

Circularity 

Transport 

Future Workforce 

This report summarises the ideas and calls to action from over 15 hours of discussion, giving essential insights 

to inform your own contribution to a joined-up just transition. 

In brief: a just transition 

The Scottish Government defines a just transition as both an ‘outcome’ and a ‘process’: “It supports a net 

zero and climate resilient economy in a way that delivers fairness and tackles inequality and injustice.” 

Some people prefer to explain it in terms of what it is NOT. The usual example used is the intergenerational 

scarring and deprivation caused by the rapid transition away from mining coal in Scotland. 

Key messages from the day 2 

Plenary Session 4 

Skills Development 6 

Built Environment 8 

Transport 10 

Public Sector Services 12 

Circularity 14 

Future Workforce 16 

Closing Sessions 18 

Partners 20 

See all partners here 

Full agenda, speaker profiles and videos of all sessions at: https://newsquestscotlandevents.com/events/cop26-just-transition/ 3

PLENARY SESSION 

You’ve got over 70 phenomenal 

speakers lined up – that’s like a 

Glastonbury of just transition experts. 

Dr Martin Valenti, South of Scotland Enterprise 

Opening the conference was Martin Valenti of South of Scotland Enterprise (SoSE), caffeinating the 

audience with a mix of optimism and exhortation. His focus was on “complete, collaborative, joined-up 

working”, the importance of a just transition, and the opportunities for “new jobs, new lifestyles, new 

ways of living, and new exciting things that we can do.” 

THE HEADLINER 

First of the Glastonbury line-up was Richard Lochhead MSP, Minister for Just Transition, 

Employment and Fair Work. 

Outlining how far Scotland has come on its net zero transition and how far is still to go, he emphasised that 

the transition has to be fair to everyone: “Scotland does retain the scars of poorly managed economic and 

social change – not least in our coalmining communities. 

“That’s why our climate legislation … requires our journey to net zero to be aligned with the principles of just 

transition. Delivery of this will ensure that the creation of socially sustainable jobs, low-carbon investment 

and engagement with communities is embedded in all aspects of our climate action.” 

THE SUPERGROUP 

Next up was a stellar panel of Professor James Curran, Professor Jim Skea, Lynne McEwan of 

Bruichladdich Distillery, Shaun Macleod of BSW Timber, Richard Hardy of Prospect Trade Union and 

Poonam Malik of University of Strathclyde. 

After each had given their personal perspective on just transition, the discussions centred on the four key 

messages of the Just Transition Commission Report (2021) and how to deliver them. 

1 

Pursue an orderly, managed transition to net zero that creates benefits and opportunities for 

all. Panellists emphasised that the transition to net zero is not just about an outcome but a process. 

They mentioned the importance of roadmaps, of businesses investing in net zero knowledge, the 

role of government and enterprise and skills agencies, and the need to consider the international 

dimension to just transition. 

4 Full agenda, speaker profiles and videos of all sessions at: https://newsquestscotlandevents.com/events/cop26-just-transition/

2 

Equip 

3 

Empower 

people with the skills and education they need to benefit from the transition. 

Points mentioned included the importance of giving the current workforce confidence to reskill, 

and the importance of creating a STEM pipeline in schools and tertiary education and then avoiding 

skills ‘leakage’. 

and invigorate our communities and strengthen local economies. Highlighted here were 

the potential of the circular economy to create a more resilient economy, and fostering social 

partnerships and local action – from regional land use partnerships to community-generated 

electricity – to deliver inclusive green recovery. 

4 

Share 

benefits widely and ensure burdens are distributed on the basis of ability to pay. Discussion 

ranged from the conceptual (e.g., is GDP the right metric for economies) to the specific (who 

should pay for the rollout of EV charge points and the decarbonisation of heat). 

I encourage you all to work with us in using (COP26) as a 

pivotal moment in Scotland’s history, to help plan how we 

transition to net zero across all sectors of our society and in 

the process create a fairer greener Scotland that we are all proud to call home. 

Richard Lochhead MSP, Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work, Scottish Government 

THE CLOSING ACT 

Last on the bill was Mike Cantlay, Chair of the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), in conversation with 

Martin Valenti about one of Scotland’s greatest assets in a just transition: the education sector. 

Their conversation highlighted the sector’s dual role in that transition: as well as providing education and 

skills to the next generation, it leads on research and innovation in the green economy, collaborating with 

industry to deliver a green recovery. Asked which elements of the sector he was 

proudest of, he pointed to Scotland’s seven Innovation Centres and SFC’s idea 

to create them: “You wouldn’t imagine Scotland today without the 

Further 

Innovation Centre programme.” 

reading 

We have to address challenges 

rather than assume that someone 

else younger or smarter than us will 

do something at some point in the future. 

Dr Martin Valenti, South of Scotland Enterprise 

Just Transition 

Commission 2022 

Just Transition 

Commission 2019-2021 

You can watch the full 

morning plenary 

session here 

Full agenda, speaker profiles and videos of all sessions at: https://newsquestscotlandevents.com/events/cop26-just-transition/ 

5

THEME 1: SKILLS DEVELOPMENT 

Hosted by ESP 

ESP is a collaboration of Scotland’s colleges and industry partners established to increase Scotland’s 

capability and capacity to delivery the right skills for the energy, engineering and construction sectors to 

meet industry demand. 

Esp-scotland.ac.uk 

Opening the Skills Development session was Jim Brown of ESP, introducing a packed agenda covering policy 

drivers, industry leadership, cross-sector collaboration and college activity across key sectors. 

A key document for anyone in this sphere is the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP), so Elaine Ellis 

of Skills Development Scotland (SDS) gave a useful overview. One key message rang out: delivering it has to 

be a huge, collective effort – involving not just skills agencies, employers and educators, but procurement, 

‘changemakers across society’, and influencers such as careers advisers and parents. 

The following sessions showed some of the work being done in different sectors to deliver this 

collective effort. 

OIL AND GAS TRANSITION 

Speakers from ESP, the Scottish Offshore Energy Council (SOEC) and OPITO outlined the skills activity 

underway in the offshore sector to support a just transition to net zero. The landscape is complex, with 

multiple players involved and activity continually being added. But running across their presentations were 

themes that would also recur in the following three sessions: 

• the importance of maximising the value of the transition for Scotland – including increasing Scottish 

content and building domestic supply chains 

• the need for a pipeline of STEM skills and for a more diverse workforce 

• the benefits of developing transferable skills and flexible pathways, to create confidence and agility 

in the workforce. 

ADVANCED MANUFACTURE 

Several of those themes were restated during the Advanced Manufacturing session, as was another common 

message: “when public and private are aligned, what we can do is incredible”. Other take-outs from this session, 

featuring speakers from the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS), Scottish Engineering and EPS, included: 

• the need for develop core manufacturing skills at volume since these are a critical stepping-stone to 

advanced manufacturing skills 

• the importance of supporting colleges and college staff on emerging technologies. 

There was some recommended homework too: Kotter’s Change Model and the Scottish Government’s 

manufacturing recovery plan. 


LOW-CARBON TRANSPORT 

Speakers introduced the activity being done to address skills gaps and opportunities in low-carbon transport. 

The first example was electric vehicle (EV) skills such as maintenance, repair and charge point maintenance. 

This work illustrates the breadth of tasks and players involved in skills development: right through from 

understanding requirements to identifying gaps to working with accreditation bodies and assessors. 

A second example was the work planned at the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) Skills Academy. This is 

bringing together education, employers and the wider community to create a skills pipeline from “pre-entry to 

apprenticeships to PhDs to graduate placements supporting knowledge exchange” on opportunities like hydrogen. 

CONSTRUCTION, ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND MICROGENERATION 

In the final section, the value of collaboration was again to the fore, along with the need to “join up training and 

funding and support to make a strong supply chain”. Examples included grants and practical resources for small 

businesses, enabling them to target the opportunities in, say, low-carbon heating installation. 

There were also useful reminders about regional inclusivity – with colleges across Scotland, including in rural 

areas, needing support with funding, facilities and training to teach low-carbon skills. 

WRAPPING UP 

Finally, Jim Brown summed up with some takeaway 

messages: 

• there’s a need to pull together on the CESAP and 

inspire the future and existing workforce, but “we 

shouldn’t be too negative”: there’s really good work 

going on 

• government and agencies should consider skills 

from the outset of any policy that’s coming through 

• on the delivery side, Scotland needs to develop 

capacity and capabilities in advance of demand. But 

skills providers can’t do that in isolation – they need 

to be incentivised and supported. 

Ultimately this is about 

people and we need 

the workforce to be 

comfortable and feed into this journey 

that we are about to embark on. 

John McDonald, OPITO 

One of the biggest challenges is 

to understand what we mean 

by green jobs and skills – we are 

talking about transformational change and as 

of yet there is not necessarily the understanding 

of that level of change across society. 

Elaine Ellis, SDS 

WANT TO 

KNOW MORE? 

Resources mentioned in this 

session include: 

Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan 

Kotter’s Change Model 

Making Scotland’s Future – a 

recovery plan for manufacturing 


Skills Development 

session here. 


7

THEME 2: BUILT ENVIRONMENT 

Delivered by Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) 

Update May 2022: CSIC is now known as Built Environment-Smarter Transformation (BE-ST). 

CSIC is an Innovation Centre that defines innovation as ‘change that unlocks new values’. By linking 

together businesses, university experts, the public sector and the economic development networks, 

their industry-led team supports a culture of innovation that drives transformational change across the 

construction industry. 

be-st.build 

innovationcentres.scot 

The built environment is a key component of the Scottish economy, creating around £8bn of GVA directly and 

linking to every other sector. It therefore has a “critical role to play in creating a fair, strong, resilient future”. 

That was the scene-setter from Stephen Good of CSIC, opening the session on the built environment. 

Humanity is the main 

driver of the climate 

change we’re seeing 

at the moment, but we are also 

the solution. 

David Raey, University of Edinburgh 

Creating new spaces, 

places, homes and 

communities requires 

new approaches and business 

models to ensure a fair zero-carbon 

built world for all. 

Lucy Black, CSIC 

BUILDING A JUST SCOTLAND 

Laying the foundations for the session was a panel discussion of the priorities, opportunities and tensions for 

Scotland as it engineers a just transition. Panellists from the Scottish Government, SEPA, SELECT and the Fair 

Futures Partnership set out the essentials: 

• avoiding the mistakes of Scotland’s past, specifically the transition from coal, and “bringing all citizens along 

with us” 

• ensuring a just skills transition 

• supporting SMEs to participate in new supply chains 

• developing and incentivising net zero solutions for existing building stock, as well as new-build 

• futureproofing Scotland’s built environment. 

Asked if there are just transition pioneers Scotland could learn from, panellists mentioned the Nordic countries, 

the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and local initiatives such as the Queens Quay regeneration project in 

Clydebank and the Glasgow Community Energy coop. 


FOR OUR PEOPLE, BY OUR PEOPLE 

Building on that discussion was a session looking at how we develop the built environment workforce and 

ensure it is equitable and representative of our society. 

Opening was Professor David Raey of the University of Edinburgh, summarising current challenges, especially 

in skills, and giving a rallying call to use climate action to address inequalities and create opportunities. 

Nicola Jackson of Robertson Timber Engineering showed how this can be done in practice, introducing the My 

Climate Path COP26 education legacy initiative. Created by Developing the Young Workforce (DYW), it’s helping 

to bring 16-24 year-olds into green jobs. Businesses can support it by becoming one of its Climate Heroes. 

Her call for inclusivity in the skills system – and also in decision-making on energy transition – was echoed by 

Aisling O’Reilly of the University of Edinburgh, one of CSIC’s BE Changemakers. 

RETROFIT: THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE 

The retrofit challenge is a critical focus at both national and regional level, with 430,000 homes in the Glasgow 

area alone needing some level of retrofit to meet net zero targets. 

According to Susan Aitken of Glasgow City Council, a recent cost benefit analysis conducted for the Council 

showed that each £1m spent on retrofit could deliver between £2m and £6m in benefits, including cost savings, 

carbon savings, health benefits and job creation. Retrofit is at the heart of Glasgow’s ‘Greenprint for Investment’. 

Building performance specialist Barbara Lantschner and architect Ann-Marie Fallon then added their on-theground 

insights, talking about the Niddrie Road tenement retrofit project and the critical importance of cyclical 

learning and “true, meaningful collaboration” in retrofit projects. 

BUILDING BETTER: A FAIRER BUILT ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL 

Topping out the session were Lucy Black of CSIC and Nick Bolton and Richard Scott of SNRG, discussing new 

business models and approaches to creating homes and places. Points to note were: 

• the housing sector has developed slowly in terms of performance – the cars of the 1970s and 2020s are 

completely different; the housing of the 1970s and 2020s less so 

• modern building approaches can address not only climate change but societal issues such as social 

isolation and housing affordability. They also provide opportunities to build local supply chains – e.g., for 

indigenous mass timber 

• cost comparisons between construction methods must consider opex as well as capex. 

My advice [to builders, social 

landlords and others] to adapt 

to zero carbon would be to 

embrace the opportunity. Engage with it. 

Nick Bolton, SNRG 

WANT TO 

KNOW MORE? 

Initiatives mentioned in this session: 

C40 Cities 

Queens Quay in Clydebank 

Glasgow Community Energy coop 

My Climate Path 

Niddrie Road project in Glasgow 

Glasgow‘s Greenprint for Investment 

SNRG’s timber house at the 

BE@COP26 showcase 


Built Environment 

session here 


9

Theme 3: Transport 

Delivered by PNDC 

PNDC is a research and testing hub founded by government, industry and academia which advances 

innovative ideas into business as usual for their members. They provide this through a rich research 

programme with a highly skilled post-doctorate team, alongshide one of the world’s most unique and 

comprehensive testing sites, with state-of-the-art assets in a real-world environment. 

pndc.co.uk 

Opening the session, Jacqueline Redmond of PNDC emphasised the need for a whole-systems approach to 

transport decarbonisation and just transition. 

Illustrating the breadth of stakeholders involved in such an approach, PNDC had invited a range of “people 

we think are making a real difference” to discuss Scotland’s challenges, opportunities and strengths in 

decarbonising transport. 

SETTING THE FRAMEWORK 

First of the organisations and individuals “making a 

real difference” was Matthew Eastwood of Transport 

Scotland, with a whistle-stop tour of Scottish 

Government policy and targets for the future of 

transport. Points to note were: 

• the significant opportunities for domestic 

businesses and international partners in batteries 

and energy storage, hydrogen, and heavy-duty 

vehicles 

• the ambition to develop Scottish supply chains 

and create “good, green jobs”. 

EFFECTIVE PLANNING AND SYSTEMS 

It’s coming through 

that there’s no single 

solution to (decarbonising 

transport) – EVs alone won’t do it, 

and there’s a toolkit of responses 

that is going to form part of our 

future delivery. 

Ally McInroy, Technology Scotland 

Planning for a just transition on transport necessarily involves players from different parts of the landscape, 

including industry and local government. Jim McOmish of SP Energy Networks and Deborah Paton of Glasgow 

City Council delivered their own insights. 

Jim McOmish described a range of SP Energy Networks projects helping to inform future network investment 

and to show how DNOs (distribution network operators) can work with local government to facilitate universal 

access to a public EV infrastructure. 

Deborah Paton then described how Glasgow City Council is using policy development, technology and – 

crucially – engagement with citizens and communities in its own whole-systems approach to decarbonising 

transport. Managing challenges such as equality, fairness and the digital divide is essential to ensure that all 

communities are included in, and benefit from, decarbonisation. 


INNOVATION IN MOTION 

Also emphasising the whole-systems approach were First Bus and the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) 

in Dundee. 

First Bus has committed to a fully decarbonised bus fleet by 2035, and already operates 24 electric buses in 

Glasgow and 15 hydrogen buses in Aberdeen. So, what does it need in place to deliver its commitments? John 

Birtwistle’s summary included: more efficient use of road space; investment in infrastructure right through from 

strategic grid capacity to depot connections; and a skills base of people able to drive and maintain electric and 

hydrogen buses. 

In other words, it will require partnerships between industry, investors, policymakers and the education / 

training system – to name a few. 

Private-public partnerships were also a focus for Sarah Petrie in her description of MSIP’s planned activity on 

manufacturing, innovation and skills development. Among the multi-partner facilities highlighted were: 

• MSIP Skills Activity, covering a broad curriculum from entry level to HNDs to research to reskilling 

• Low Carbon Transport Applications Test Centre (LOCATE), supporting heavy duty vehicle platform testing 

and innovation, with the aim to deliver jobs, skills and supply chain development. 

WRAPPING UP 

The session ended with Ally McInroy of Technology Scotland chairing a panel discussion to explore key issues 

and perspectives. Among the points made were: 

• Scotland is open to ideas, opportunities, new business models, and partnerships with industry and investors 

• electrification must be accompanied by a modal shift in transport 

• skills development is critical 

• green transition must be inclusive, with benefits spread across regions, cities, society, communities and 

sectors, and the costs not “landing on those least able to pay” 

• one of the toughest challenges ahead will be behavioural change. Educating, informing and influencing 

will be crucial. 

We’re on the right track but we can’t 

let up on the innovation … to make 

it the fair and just transition you’ve 

heard about today. 

Jacqueline Redmond, PNDC 

Deborah Paton, Glasgow City Council 

Transport has a positive role in 

tackling poverty, improving health 

and reducing inequalities. 

WANT TO 

KNOW MORE? 

Activity mentioned in this session: 

SP Energy Networks’ EV-UP project, 

Project PACE and Green Economy Fund 

First Bus electrification activity at its 

Caledonia depot in Glasgow 

PNDC work on the Driving the Electric 

Revolution programme 

MSIP Skills Academy and LOCATE facility 

Glasgow City Council development 

planning 


Transport session here 


11

THEME 4: 

PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICES 

Delivered by Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) 

and Precision Medicine Scotland 

DHI and PMS are Innovation Centres in Scotland. By combining insights from the digital and genomic 

revolutions, DHI can reduce inefficiencies in health and care delivery, improve access, minimise costs, 

increase quality and make health and care truly person-centres. PMS-IC’s focus is on linking Scotland’s 

domain expertise, data assets and delivery capability to accelerate the adoption of Precision Medicine: new 

products and services for a global market. 

dhi-scotland.com 

precisionmedicinescotland.com 

innovationcentres.scot 

“Everyone thinks that health and care services have a small, if any, part to play in this global movement (towards 

a just transition to net zero) but with about 6-7% of emissions coming from health and social care provision, we 

can and need to play our part.” 

That was Professor George Crooks of DHI, opening the session on public sector services. 

It was never easy to start with to build a hospital. 

To add further priorities and outcomes on each of 

those is a challenge… However, healthcare has 

never stayed the same, it is always driving to improve. 

Susan Grant, NHS Scotland 

BUILDING TO ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS 

George joined forces with Darren Kilburn of FarrPoint and Susan Grant of NHS Scotland to signpost key 

opportunities and challenges in terms of using digital technology to support Scotland’s net zero ambitions. 

Notable points included: 

• with an ageing population and long-term multiple conditions on the rise, e-health and digital will be key to 

delivering smarter healthcare 

• future digital tools and services will shift the balance of care away from treatment and post-event care, 

towards prevention and anticipation of illness, and independent living 

• hospitals can act as a ‘Formula 1’ environment, offering options to develop and test solutions which can 

trickle down to other settings 

• the journey towards net-zero health and care must be co-designed with all stakeholders – from clinicians 

to hospital porters to patients and their families. 


Act 

STREAMLINING PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY 

Next up came Chaloner Chute of DHI, Paul McGinness of Storm ID and David Lowe of Queen Elizabeth 

University Hospital. Their task: to show how low-carbon virtual models can contribute to health and care 

delivery. 

They started with the context: 3.5% of all road travel in the UK relates to NHS activity, equating to 10 billion 

miles a year. DHI project activity is showing how digital solutions could deliver benefits from cutting travel to 

saving clinician time to reduced hospital admissions. 

Chaloner Chute then took these points further – looking at how person-centred data sharing could be a 

catalyst for transformation of public service delivery, including in areas beyond health and care. 

His foundation for this was the DHI Exchange’s experience of working on over 50 co-design projects and 

evidence of citizens’ desire to “tell their story once” and to access and understand their own data and guidance. 

This in turn points to the need and opportunity for an architecture allowing data to be stored, moved between 

different health and care services and verified. 

HOW CAN PRECISION MEDICINE HELP? 

With medicines contributing around 25% of emissions in the NHS, David Bunton of Reprocell Europe and Claire 

Wallace of Thermofisher explained the role of precision medicine in reducing this. The Precision Medicine 

Scotland Innovation Centre (PMS-IC) estimates that implementing precision medicine technologies into the 

NHS could achieve potential savings of £85m over 3-5 years, as well as improving patient outcomes. 

For example, a pharmacogenics (PGx) approach to healthcare can help to identify responders and nonresponders 

to medicines, avoid adverse drug reactions, and optimise drug dosages. 

THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC SECTOR WORK 

The last session gave a glimpse of the future of public sector service delivery. 

Sanna Rimpiläinen of DHI looked at the new digital skills needed for sustainable public sector work – not just in 

the workforce but among citizens self-managing their conditions. 

And finally we were introduced to the future of care at home, in care homes and social housing, with 

Colin Foskett of Blackwood Homes describing how its CleverCogs digital system and Innovate UK-funded 

Peoplehood project are helping to support independent living and healthy ageing. 

It is not possible to grow an 

economy in a developed nation, 

meet net zero targets, and care 

for the social wellbeing of the nation without 

digital solutions. 

Darren Kilburn, FarrPoint 

WANT TO 

KNOW MORE? 

Activity and initiatives mentioned 

in this session include: 

DHI Exchange 

DHI projects 

Blackwood Group’s CleverCogs system 

and Peoplehood project 

You can watch the whole 

Public Sector Services 

session here. 

Bla 

Yo 


13

THEME 5: CIRCULARITY 

Delivered by Zero Waste Scotland 

Zero Waste Scotland exists to lead Scotland to use products and resources responsibly, focusing on where 

we can have the greatest impact on climate change. Using evidence and insight, their goal is to inform 

policy, and motivate individuals and businesses to embrace the environmental, economic, and social 

benefits of a circular economy. 

zerowastescotland.org.uk 

The average Scot consumes over 18 tonnes of materials each year. To address the climate crisis, we need to 

rethink how we consume resources – in Scotland and the rest of the world. Change is needed system-wide. 

This was the focus of the Zero Waste Scotland session on circularity, looking at how to implement change at 

the scale and pace needed and in a way that generates new and inclusive opportunities for Scotland. 

REIMAGINE 

First up, Jill Farrell of Zero Waste Scotland discussed how to reimagine our traditional linear approach with 

three experts on the front line of circularity: Ilektra Kouloumpi of Circle Economy, Wayne Hubbard of ReLondon 

and Donald McCalman of Circularity Scotland. 

Key points from the ideas-rich discussion included: 

• cities and regions are key players in the just transition to a circular economy and will each need their own 

tailored approaches 

• circularity can bring significant social benefits as well as environmental and economic benefits. Wayne 

Hubbard talked about using circularity to create more resilient and more just local economies, while Ilektra 

Kouloumpi related circularity to inclusivity and ‘doughnut economics’ 

• there are difficult decisions to be made - from how we consume ‘stuff’ to how policymakers avoid 

offshoring their challenges or creating unintended consequences globally 

• Scotland’s proposed Deposit Return Scheme could promote wider consumer behaviour change. 

REINVENT 

The shift to a circular economy must involve businesses of all sizes. In this next session, three very different 

businesses discussed their own contribution. 

Maclean’s Highland Bakery and Windswept Brewing Company are using spent grain (draff) from brewing to 

make crackers, having been connected by Zero Waste Scotland. As a result, both companies intend to seek 

further opportunities to become more circular. 

Meanwhile, Renewable Parts is inventing a new opportunity: building a supply chain for reused or remodelled 

parts in the wind industry. In the fast-growing wind industry, it’s a significant systemic change to get people 

designing for reuse as well as performance and manufacture. 

All three businesses agreed on the need for mindset change, willingness to collaborate, and external support – 

whether that’s grants, skills, advice or connections. 


RETHINK 

The final two sessions considered two specific sectors where new circular models are needed: food and 

fashion. 

Iain Gulland of Zero Waste Scotland, Pete Ritchie of Nourish Scotland and Professor Ian Black of Stirling 

University gave interesting food for thought: 

• globally, over a third of food produced is wasted, and a quarter of all water involved in agriculture is wasted 

through food waste 

• although 60% of food waste in Scotland occurs at household level, both panellists warned against blaming 

or preaching to consumers 

• household food waste is linked to wider issues around food marketing and how we shop, work 

and commute 

• large retailers have been highly effective at reducing food waste, but waste is being pushed downstream 

and upstream to households and suppliers. Pete Ritchie suggested solutions such as whole-field contracts 

and intervention on unit pricing. 

And, finally, fast fashion came under the spotlight. Here too, panellists from Zero Waste Scotland, Glasgow 

University, AWS and Sustainable Fashion Scotland advocated whole-system change rather than loading 

responsibility for change solely on consumers. Ideas and recommendations included: 

• further research into consumer and brand attitudes to boost understanding of how to change behaviour 

• brands should view alternative business models – such as rental and remodelling – as opportunities to build 

customer relationships 

• given the importance of language in behaviour change, ‘fashion users’ or ‘citizens’ may be better terms than 

‘consumers’ 

• overproduction in the fashion industry also needs to be addressed systemically. 

It’s absolutely essential that governments, 

universities, citizens and businesses 

have a role if we’re going to be successful 

(on a just transition). 

Jill Farrell, Zero Waste Scotland 

It’s about getting the conversations 

going – we don’t know where 

our waste could be used, or how 

we can use someone else’s waste, until we’ve had 

that conversation. 

WANT TO 

KNOW MORE? 

Activity and initiatives mentioned 

in this session include: 

Doughnut economics 

Deposit Return Scheme 

Maclean’s Highland Bakery and 

Windswept Brewing project 


Circularity session here. 

Nigel Tiddy, Windswept Brewing 


15

THEME 6: FUTURE WORKFORCE 

Delivered by Fuel Change 

Fuel Change is a social enterprise movement, which taps into the potential of youth to help fight the 

climate crisis. They unleash the underestimated skills and energy of Scotland’s youth by partnering with 

educators and businesses to help solve their carbon challenges. 

Fuelchange.co.uk 

Introducing the session was TV presenter Amy Irons, explaining Fuel Change’s objective to “ensure employers 

out there have the opportunity to listen to what our young people have to say about climate action – not just 

those who are already climate activists but those who currently feel they can’t make a difference.” 

With that in mind, Fuel Change brought together apprentices, high school pupils, employers and teachers 

in October to imagine what the workforce will look like by 2045 and 2030 if we take – or don’t take – 

climate action. 

BY THE YEAR 2045 

Opening the discussions was a presentation by Iain Findlay of Aurora Sustainability, painting a picture of what 

2045 could look like if the world comes together on climate action. 

After describing the difference between 2C and 1.5C of global warning as an additional 400 million people 

having to deal with extreme heat waves, he moved to a more positive scenario: a 2045 where the linear economy 

has transformed into a circular, regenerative one and where cities are transformed into ‘green oases’ in which 

windows are solar panels, living walls support wildlife and building materials like hemp are carbon-negative. 

The task for people of all ages, he said, was to figure out what we need to do to get there. 

THE GEN Z PERSPECTIVE ON 2045 

A panel of apprentices, along with audience members, responded to Iain’s picture of the future. 

Some described the steps they’re taking in their own lives, such as cutting down on meat, but also the 

barriers to change, such as the fact that taking public transport to work instead of driving would increase one 

apprentice’s journey from 40 minutes to two and a half hours. 

They also suggested what employers could do to deliver climate action: 

• support employees’ behaviour change with EV charging points, bike parks or workplace buses 

• incentivise change through job conditions and benefits, e.g., offering a four-day week conditional on 

employees using green transport options 

The other major point emerging from both panel and audience members was a plea for more and better 

information: 

• climate education throughout the school curriculum 

• better career information about green job pathways 

• telling young people about the opportunities in climate transition and their ability to make a difference, 

rather than just talking about “ice caps melting and everything [being] terrible”. 


BY THE YEAR 2030 

The second session took a similar approach, with Iain Findlay presenting a scenario of what 2030 could look 

like: this included eating less meat, using localised production and shopping to take waste out of the system, 

and replacing “buying products with consuming utility” (e.g., paying for mobility rather than owning cars). 

THE GEN Z PERSPECTIVE ON 2030 

In this 2030 session too, both audience and apprenticeships responded strongly to Iain’s presentation. Several 

people described how they were supporting change through, for example: 

• buying more local meat and seasonal fruit and vegetables 

• doing their own Fuel Change projects, for example a project to reuse materials from decommissioned 

aircraft in wind turbines. 

They also thought that much of the change needed was systemic, e.g.: 

• using public procurement (e.g., school meals) to support more sustainable food production 

• requiring information in food labelling about products’ carbon footprint. 

Wrapping up, several employers enthused about the young people’s engagement and ideas. So, what can 

employers and educators do to harness this? The lessons from the Fuel Change session seem to be: 

• listen to them 

• provide the information, skills and opportunities they want 

• work out how to draw other young people into the conversation. 

People keep on telling 

us we have to make 

the change, but how 

do we make the change if we are 

not educated on it?” 

School pupil 

I think we’ll hear some 

people say change is 

scary, but I think 

all the changes that you’re seeing 

are exciting. 

Apprentice 

I think any employer 

would be mad not 

to listen to the ideas 

that are coming from the younger 

people within the business – but 

also from older people too. 

Employer 

WANT TO 

KNOW MORE? 


Future Workforce 

session here. 


17

Closing Sessions 

The closing plenary sessions brought together the organisations, 

policy, funding and innovation leaders who will help Scotland 

build from COP26 and deliver a just transition. 

IDEAS AND PRINCIPLES TO SUPPORT JUST TRANSITION OBJECTIVES 

The first discussion brought together the organisations that delivered the afternoon’s six themed sessions. 

Each had a variety of ideas and suggestions for how to support just transition objectives in Scotland, with 

some key points of each of them below. 

Fuel Change: Ensure climate change is infused throughout the school curriculum and then do the same in 

colleges. Mass engagement of people aged 16-24 could feed through into businesses and the increase the pace 

and scale of climate action. 

ESP: Build even further on what’s happening in colleges. Facilitate regional STEM partnerships and get an action 

plan in place with Education Scotland, Developing the Young Workforce, the colleges, local authorities and others 

to drive this forward. 

Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre: Transform delivery of public services through, e.g., digital 

technologies. This will help the workforce do their jobs better and allow the public to have “access to the public 

services that they deserve” as well as support the net zero transition. 

PNDC: Follow the examples of NMIS and the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) which are not just 

producing new processes or technologies but producing the new skills that go with them. It’s important to 

develop the two streams in parallel. 

Zero Waste Scotland: Involve everyone. Talk of ‘green jobs’ can give the sense that a selection of people will 

solve the issues and the rest will carry on with ‘non-green jobs’. But green awareness and knowledge should be 

embedded in every job – as has happened with digital literacy. 

Construction Scotland Innovation Centre: Deliver cultural / behavioural change by putting people 

at the centre and focusing on the effects of transition on health, wellbeing and life improvement. Put out key 

messaging around, e.g., reducing fuel poverty, creating better air quality and new jobs. 

EVENT POLL 

Where is the biggest gap in terms of supporting businesses, organisations and citizens to make the 

transition to net zero? 

Funding gap/funding shortages 22% 

Mindset/cultural challenges around the need to change 44% 

Shortage of the right skills and talent 14% 

Availability of the right tools and support 19% 


WHAT HAPPENS NEXT AND CALL TO ACTION 

At the end of an intensive day came one final session, chaired by Alicia Greated of KTN, with leaders from 

Scotland’s enterprise and skills agencies and Innovation Centres. As with much of the day, a lively, committed 

debate could have continued far longer than timings allowed. Here’s a taster of their ideas. 

Jane Morrison-Ross of South of Scotland Enterprise (SoSE) noted that 

many enterprises and communities want to make positive change, but 

don’t have the toolkit to do so. SoSE will support them through, e.g., 

collaboration and an SME toolkit pulling together practical information 

and tools. 

Adrian Gillespie of Scottish Enterprise listed a number of ways in which 

SE is promoting progress towards net zero, such as asking recipients of 

grant support to commit to net zero if they are benefiting from grant 

support and supporting access to new market opportunities. 

Stuart Fancey of Scottish Funding Council suggested that organisations 

should leverage each other’s courage and confidence to aim higher on 

a just transition. He also emphasised to draw on all Scotland’s academic 

and research strengths to make a just transition. 

Stephen Good of Construction Scotland Innovation Centre advocated 

also using Scotland’s abundance of natural assets more smartly to support 

the transition – for example, using our forestry resources in added value 

ways and in smart engineering and construction to lock in carbon. 

Paul Winstanley of CENSIS emphasised the importance of building 

community: “One action I would like to take forward is, continue to 

work with us and help us to co-design and co-implement the Scottish 

Government’s just transition plans … we can build upon and leverage our 

skills programme and innovation capacity and overcome our barriers.” 

THE WRAP-UP 

By the end of the event, hundreds of people and organisations had made new connections and discovered 

initiatives they could link to or assist. These connections spanned not just the UK, but Africa, Latin America and 

elsewhere, a sign of how COP26 raised Scotland’s climate action profile. 

The urgency of acting on these new connections was emphasised in the event polling. Asked if 2045 is too 

early or late to meet a just transition to net zero: 

• 1% said too early 

• 29% said about right 

• 69% said too late. 

Hence the closing quote from Paul Winstanley of CENSIS: 

“My parting shot is a quote from Jane Austen: ‘It isn’t 

what we say or think that define us, but what we do.’ 

So, DO and CONTRIBUTE have got to be the way 

ahead here.” 

The full 

closing sessions, 

along with all 

other sessions 

of the event, can 

be watched 

here. 


19

THANK YOU TO ALL THE PARTNERS 

INVOLVED IN THIS EVENT 

For more information about this event contact: 

Paul Winstanley, CEO, CENSIS | paul.winstanley@censis.org.uk

A joined-up just transition for Scotland

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