Green business experts including Rothamsted Enterprises joined Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) from across the country to discuss their ideas on delivering a green recovery with the Minister for Business and Industry, Nadhim Zahawi MP; the Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, Kwasi Kwarteng MP; the Minister for Science, Research & Innovation, Amanda Solloway; and the Minister for Small Business, Paul Scully MP, in a series of roundtables that got underway this week.

The five roundtables are being led by LEP Chairs and include businesses from the following economic areas: Catalyst South (which encompasses Hertfordshire), East and West Midlands, Northern Powerhouse 11, Oxford-Cambridge Arc & New Anglia, and South West.

Business and Industry Minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said: “These roundtables put a clear focus on green economic recovery and our ambition to achieve our net zero goals by 2050.

“These are an invaluable way for government, Local Enterprise Partnerships and business leaders to join together, share local expertise in green innovation across sectors and ensure the UK is on course to build back greener from the pandemic.”

Mark Bretton, Chair of the LEP Network and Hertfordshire LEP, said: “Green innovation is a central thread of our Rebuild and Recovery Deal that we have outlined in our Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) proposals, which also included flexibility for a one year ‘fast track’ CSR. These roundtables underline that approach and LEPs’ commitment to the government’s ambitions to Build Back Greener and help accelerate the country towards its net zero carbon goals.

“With an eye to the long term, LEPs are helping to drive that green innovation forward, creating the environment which will nurture new skills and generate the jobs upon which the green revolution will depend.”

The roundtables enable businesses and SMEs to discuss their ideas on how best to accelerate the green recovery but specifically focus on:

• how to enable businesses to take advantage of new opportunities in a green recovery after the Brexit transition period;
• what priorities can help businesses recover and grow in alignment with the net zero target;
• how government can support net-zero innovation;
• any barriers to net zero growth and how government can help business overcome them; and
• how best to increase business access to support and advice to help them grow and incentivise them to align with net zero targets.

Hertfordshire LEP was joined by local businesses including Rothamsted Enterprises (Harpenden), Waste2 Environmental Systems (Hemel Hempstead), Green Energy UK (Ware), Willmott Dixon (Letchworth Garden City), and Electric Blue (St Albans) at the Catalyst South roundtable.

Nicole Sadd, CEO of Rothamsted Enterprises, commented: “I was delighted to be one of the 30 businesses that participated in the Green Recovery Ministerial Roundtable, representing Rothamsted and businesses across Hertfordshire. Not only did I gain very valuable insight into the various projects currently focused on net zero and carbon reduction in the South East, but we have now agreed to make the forum an ongoing event, to enable future collaborations and to bring innovation and digital companies to the table.

“It is essential that we bring different sectors together to discuss solutions that will deliver green recovery, drive innovation and garner cross-industry support. We really are stronger together and I very much look forward to seeing the forum deliver impact.”

This is the third round of LEP business roundtables and follows on from the success of business discussions with Ministers in May and July.