The North
of Tyne Combined Authority is backing the scientists of the future with plans
to boost green technology and manufacturing in Newcastle, North Tyneside and
Northumberland.
The plans will bring together entrepreneurs, universities, including
Northumbria, and big business to make the region a leader in environmentally-friendly
innovation for everyday consumer products.
Key to this will be the development of new technologies to make households,
businesses and industry kinder to the environment and less wasteful of water,
without compromising on the high quality, value and convenience expected by the
public.
Politicians have approved a £1.3m contribution to the £2.7m Advancing
Circular Economy (ACE) Research and Development (R&D) Demonstrator project
in a recent meeting of the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) cabinet.
Northumbria University is a member of the ACE consortium of Procter
& Gamble (P&G’s) Newcastle Innovation Centre, which also includes Newcastle
University, Prozomix Ltd., CPI and the Innovation SuperNetwork. Together they will
build partnerships with other companies that would benefit from the knowledge,
expertise, facilities and capabilities on offer.
This could include those in the food and drink industry, oil and gas,
renewables, utilities, chemicals, aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical,
electronics, construction or other sectors.
Northumbria academics from the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment will be involved in creating a unique integrated
enzyme and probiotic discovery platform to rapidly identify, develop and
commercialize novel enzymes and probiotics for applications that make
households more environmentally friendly.
Professor George Marston, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation)
at Northumbria University, said: “Knowledge exchange and collaboration are
vital in order to address global challenges such as sustainable economic growth,
and we are proud to be working as part of the ACE consortium to really drive
this forward.
“At Northumbria University, we’re committed to optimising our
contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals through our research, teaching,
campus and operations, so we are well placed to play a key role in putting the
North East on the map as global leaders in innovative solutions for sustainability.
“
Taking on
global sustainability and creating jobs
Led by global company P&G whose brands include Ariel, Fairy and
Lenor, the ACE Demonstrator project will have three priorities; to identify new
and more sustainable biotechnologies for everyday cleaning products, to find
new ways to reduce domestic water consumption, and to investigate the potential
for a new green technology centre in the North of Tyne.
The ACE Demonstrator project will support the creation of 49 jobs and
safeguard 40 others, while creating opportunities in Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) for students and teachers in schools across
North of Tyne.
North of Tyne Cabinet Member for Business Competitiveness and Leader of
Newcastle City Council Councillor Nick Forbes said: “There’s no way we can go
on consuming and discarding the earth’s resources at the rate we are currently.
“The latest figures from Defra show that UK households produced just
under 27 million tonnes of waste in 2017. That’s equivalent to 409kg per
person.
“This is a unique opportunity to make the North of Tyne a world-leader
in addressing global sustainability and creating modern, unique solutions to
these challenges.
“That means finding ways to tackle issues such as waste recycling,
energy and water access, and the use of renewable materials.
“We’ll do it by connecting and supporting financially those with the
skill, talent, and ability to create jobs in the advanced circular economy,
which is an emerging sector of global significance.”
Expertise
and collaboration
As a region, the North East boasts everything needed for success in the
ACE field.
The North of Tyne in particular is home to major process industries and
biotechnology businesses, smaller technology providers, leading universities and
strong partnerships with UK Catapults - which are a network of world-leading
technology centres designed to boost innovation and economic growth.
Connecting and coordinating these institutions will encourage
development of the next generation of environmentally friendly products.
Rhona Knox, P&G Vice President, Global R&D said: “I am delighted
that P&G, Newcastle & Northumbria Universities, Prozomix, CPI, ISN and
NTCA are partnering to enable the North East to become global leaders in
creating green products and solutions.
“This partnership is in line with P&G’s Ambition 2030 environment
sustainability framework which is about ensuring we grow responsibly, make our
business more resilient, and better serve consumer needs in a resource-constrained
world.
“P&G has set goals in four areas that we believe will be good for
consumers, good for the planet and good for business.
“In addition to these ambitious targets, on 16th July 2020, P&G
announced an acceleration of its efforts to tackle climate change, with a new
commitment to be carbon neutral across its operations for the decade.
“The products and solutions that will be created by the ACE project
demonstrate how P&G and its brands are committed to be a force for good and
a force for growth and we aspire to attracting other partners who can do the
same for their companies.”
Find out more about the Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment, the world’s first research hub to create Living
Buildings.
