48. Sustainable Resource Management – delivering Net Zero, a sector in transition and the need for new green skills? 23 October 2023

 

We were pleased to welcome Dr Adam Read who is the Chief External Affairs and Sustainability Officer at SUEZ Recycling & Recovery UK to present this webinar.  Adam is a Member of the SUEZ UK Management Team with responsibility for external affairs, communications, and sustainability. He has been with SUEZ UK for six years after a successful career in academia, local government and environmental consultancy stretching back over almost 30 years.  He leads the company’s work with the UK Government on the development of the new Resources & Waste Strategy, Extended Producer Responsibility, Deposit Return Scheme, and Plastic Tax.

In his presentation he reflected on the success or otherwise of these initiatives and awarded marks out of 10.  He awarded high marks for intention and low for delivery.  He also identified the opportunity for the waste management sector to deliver Net Zero solutions.  He was concerned at the delay/lack of investment in waste management infrastructure to meet commitments and obligations.  These included removing organic waste from disposal in landfill and removing plastics from destruction in energy from waste plants.

Adam pointed out the  need for consistency and clarity in policy making, citing the alleged number of bins which may or may not be required to achieve better recovery and recycling rates.  Focusing on the waste hierarchy, he felt strongly that we needed to start with Reject, not producing or buying products that were difficult or impossible to recover the value/materials from.

He was concerned that with 135,000 core staff in the sector, very few were under 25 and 12% over 60. He identified that there would be 450,000 new jobs in the circular economy but there needed to be better training, IT and technology.  Specifically the sector urgently needed to improve its diversity.  Finally, he envisaged what the sector might look like in 2030 and 2035 and what core skills and competencies would be needed.

We are grateful to Adam for his enthusiastic and energetic presentation and willingness to tackle some challenging questions.