Think British for a greener future

British manufacturing holds the key to moving the Uk towards a fairer, more sustainable society, believes HHIC

Cheap manufacturing labour readily available in Chine, Asia andIndia means that the product labels reading 'Made in Britain' are increasingly rare.

Also, it is no exaggeration that manufacturing has been the worst-hit sector during Britain's recession, having been on shaky ground since so many jobs vanished during Margaret Thatcher's time as Prime Minister.

Between 1979 and 1982, Britain's manufacturing output dropped 18%, although it had already been on a steady decline.

Fortunately, due to the efficiency of the industries that survived, Britain's manufacturing output was greater than ever - until the credit crunch. Manufacturing still employs 3 million people - a far greater number than the financial services sector.

Britain is a leading producer of green technologies, and it really must build on its strenghts such as design innovation, development and marketing. This will be really important if we want to succesfully sustain the manufacturing sector of the future. British manufacturing firms are now operating tactically, beating the overseas competition by focusing more on innovation and niche markets.

Major opportunities are rising from the green economy such as sustainability, renewables and carbon reduction. But we have to be careful we don't miss out on these opportunities as Denmark and Germany are said to have taken the lead in green technologies.

Ground-source or geothermal heat pumps have become well established in parts of North America, Scandinavia and parts of central Europe, but this is not so in the UK.

The high cost of geotechnical work needed to support ground-source heating means that a good economic return on investment is not currently possible in the UK, when compared with conventional gas heating at current electricity and gas prices.

It is all vital that we become a leader in green technology in order to attract younger talent into the industry, and we can't afford to lose out on these opportunities.

Incentive programmes for solar panels in Germany, Italy and Spain created a manufacturing volume that is bringing down costs.

Solar panel prices dropped 30% last year alone due to an increase in output and a drop in orders because of the recession. But it looks promosing that the day will come when solar panels on homes would be cost-competitive without a subsiddy, even in Britain.

We are all too aware of the many job losses during the recession in our key sectors such as engineering, construction and building induistries.

The heating industry has not been immune to the plight of these related sectors, but a huge positive is the fact that it embraces both innovation and the opportunities that a green economy will provide. It is also one of the few remaining industries that has a wide range of products still being manufactured in the UK.

There are many strenghts to our manufacturing sector in terms ofopen markets, and we really need to make the UK a world-leading, innovative country. 

However, the great idea also need excellent production to enable them to be translated into products. This innovation needs to be supported by strategies that have a much longer-term focus if we are to succeed.

Thanks to the dedicated and talented experts working in the heating and hot water industry, technological advances continue to be made at an unprecendented rate. Many of these advances have led to a reduction in negative environmental impacts and will continue to do so.

One major worry is whether these green innovations will continue to have support and investment from the next government, because of the UK's current economic difficulties. We have all seen the success of the government's boiler scrappage scheme, and we welcome further investment in energy research and development, especially in the area of renewables.

Both of the current government and the leader of the opposition, David Cameron, have said that the environmental agenda will not be dropped during a downturn as green policies are vital.

We must hope that, whatever government is in power, they continue inveting when things get tough, so that the UK will eventually achieve a more sustainable and fairer economy.

 

Source - HVP

Posted Date: 14th Apr 2010