Carbon Neutral Islands sector readiness and skills

The Carbon Neutral Islands project is a Scottish Government commitment to support six Scottish islands (Islay, Raasay, Hoy, Yell, Barra and Great Cumbrae) to become carbon neutral by 2040.

This report presents evidence on the readiness status of island businesses to meet this challenge.

Its focus is on the skills available within business to support decarbonisation, skills gaps and future requirements.

The research included a literature review along with online surveys and in-person interviews with key stakeholders on the islands.

Findings

• While most of the businesses interviewed across the six islands are willing and ready to engage with the Carbon Neutral Islands project, there is a lack of knowledge and skills.
• A minority of businesses actively track their carbon footprints. However, some businesses who are developing a strategic plan for decarbonisation do not always use their carbon footprints to guide their strategies.
• Time and cost are key barriers to businesses in tracking carbon footprints and developing a decarbonisation strategy. While most agreed that tracking carbon footprints and developing plans are important, half or more of the businesses in the renewable energy sector, agriculture, housing and trades sectors did not do this.
• Participants have a general understanding about carbon use in their businesses and a general awareness of how to measure it via calculator tools. However, most participants were less confident in their technical knowledge and how to implement changes. There are challenges around finding footprint calculators relevant to individual island-based businesses and guidance for plan development.
• There is a general lack of knowledge of the skills that are required for decarbonising businesses and how to develop these skills. Other key gaps include a lack of understanding of the technical options for decarbonisation. Our evidence indicates that agriculture, aquaculture and marine, the self-employed and logistics sectors require the most support over a wide range of skills.
• Current actions towards carbon neutrality are short term and generalised, such as selecting 2-year green energy tariffs. Barriers to longer-term carbon neutrality include costs of green technologies and a lack of qualified technicians within the islands for installing or maintaining equipment (e.g. heat pumps and solar panels).

If you require the report in an alternative format such as a Word document, please contact info@climatexchange.org.uk or 0131 651 4783.