Places up for grabs for West Midlands manufacturers at first Low Carbon Forum

Manufacturers looking to embrace the move to a greener industry will be given access to the most comprehensive list of experts ever assembled when a new event heads for the West Midlands next month.

The Low Carbon Manufacturing Forum - held at Birmingham’s National Motorcycle Museum on 10th March – has teamed up with Advantage West Midlands and the Manufacturing Advisory Service-West Midlands (MAS-WM) to give 50 manufacturing SMEs the chance to attend for free in a bid to help them become more resource efficient and to prepare them for £8 trillion of new business opportunities.

This sponsorship, which saves each company nearly £300, represents a unique opportunity for firms to access more than 40 interactive round table discussions on topics including ‘greener transport’, ‘low carbon design’, ‘renewable energy supply chains’ and ‘meeting carbon reduction targets’.

Simon Griffiths, Chief Executive at MAS-WM, believes the forum could not have taken place at a better time:

“In February, Lord Mandelson announced a £19m investment package to make the Midlands a low carbon area for vehicle development and this supplements opportunities in nuclear energy and wind and hydro power.”

He continued: “Our region seems to be at the vanguard for a lot of this new technology and our job is to make sure that this funding and wealth of new business is embraced throughout the supply chain and drive future employment opportunities in the West Midlands.

“The Low Carbon Forum is unique in that it allows each delegate to tailor the discussions they are involved in during the day, so each company – regardless of expertise – can benefit fully from the interactive sessions. Better still, it is led by industry people who have often been there, know what SMEs are going through and understand what it takes to make it work.”

More than 200 delegates have already signed up to the Low Carbon Innovation Network-backed event, which is also being supported by the Engineering Employers Forum (EEF) and the Food & Drink Federation (FDF).

The day will consist of four, hourly roundtable discussions, networking and pre-arranged meetings that encourage best practice sharing and inter-trading.

There will also be the opportunity for manufacturers to put their name down for further Low Carbon assistance through MAS-WM’s team of dedicated advisers.

John Neame, the driving force behind the Forum, concluded: “Inevitably the talk is all about opportunities, but what this event also does is look at what our firms need to do in order to meet carbon reduction targets.

“The UK now has a legally binding framework which intends to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 34 - 42% by 2020, a massive challenge which SMEs need help with.

“This issue will be targeted throughout the day and hopefully the West Midlands can keep up its good work and continue to do its bit to become more profitable whilst helping the environment in the process.”

If you are a manufacturing SME in the West Midlands please apply for one of the free places by visiting visit: www.carbon-innovation.com/manufacturing/mas.