Environmental Technologies & Services

Environmental Technologies & Service Sector in the Marches
This is one of the fastest growing sectors in the Marches, with more than 65 per cent of environmental technology businesses in the region experiencing growth in the last year.

Across the Marches and the wider Midlands, the sector is worth around £8.5 billion a year across a broad range of interests including renewables, water technology, waste management and pollution control.

The renewable energy sector is growing by nine per cent a year, the wind sector by 13 per cent and there are opportunities in bio-energy, with the UK generating millions of tonnes of organic waste each year.

The sector is supported in the region by the Marches Environmental Technologies Network, which promotes collaborative working and business growth among businesses that provide products and services within the industry. The network, known as Metnet is free to join and has added value to a number of businesses since it was established in April 2010.

Compared to other parts of the UK, the Marches has a large number of environmental consultancy firms. In Shropshire, more than 21 per cent of the environmental companies are consultancy based, with a strong cluster around the Shrewsbury area. The sector is vibrant, forward thinking and more than 50 per cent of all environmental technologies businesses here are less than 10 years old.

Also supporting the sector is BESST, an organisation created to assist the wider Marches business base to improve their environmental performance in order to boost competitiveness and reduce their impact on the environment. BESST is a best practice sharing network, members share advice and information.

Among the companies flying the flag for environmental technology in the Marches are: