Grangemouth Industrial Cluster - draft Just Transition plan: consultation

Develop an industry-led technical and commercial investment strategy for the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster, aligned to Scottish and UK net zero targets, that attracts investment focused on economic, social and environmental benefit.

Utilising industry expertise and commercial knowledge, supported by Government, this strategy will outline a portfolio of investable projects focused on both decarbonisation and diversification with clear industry commitment, outlining the commercially viable interventions that form a cluster-wide pathway to net zero. The investment strategy should consider public, private and social investment.

An experienced and capable executive team will be funded to lead the development of the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster Strategy.

Jobs, Skills and Economic Opportunities

Create alignment and coordinated action between the UK Government, Scottish Government and local authorities on policy, strategy and funding for the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster.

Governments will work collaboratively to consider both the reserved and devolved policy landscape to ensure that commercial viability of projects is supported.

Jobs, Skills and Economic Opportunities

Support and fund the delivery of Project Willow as a critical early part of the longer-term industrial cluster strategy, engaging and involving companies across the cluster.

Project Willow is a co-designed cross-site study that will examine the feasability of new opportunities for low carbon fuel and chemicals production as well as repurposing existing infrastructure at Grangemouth (INEOS and Petroineos sites) to deploy low-carbon technologies and processes, such as bio-fuels manufacturing, green hydrogen production, ammonia production, and power from waste. This study will investigate the financial, regulatory, and legislative barriers and opportunities to deploy such technologies as well as the potential opportunities across the wider cluster.

Jobs, Skills and Economic Opportunities

Establish a Grangemouth Regulatory Hub to support a Just Transition to net zero in 2024.

Leverage the funding available until March 2025 through the UK Government Regulators' Pioneer Fund to trial novel approaches to regulation with the aim of supporting innovation of industrial cluster to net zero whilst continuing to protect people and the environment.

Pursue additional funding routes to support a change in regulatory approach to support innovation and the Just Transition to net zero GHG emissions.

Scottish Government and SEPA work closely with industry to fully explore opportunities presented by the Outcome-Based Collaborative Regulation project. Doing so has the capacity to develop new ways to help industry to operate sustainably and efficiently, while also fostering increased collaboration between public sector and industry stakeholders.

Adaptation, Environment, and Biodiversity

Develop a series of Just Transition conditionalities, to be applied to public funding for the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster.

Any public funding directed towards the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster will consider conditions that support fair work, community benefits, equity stakes, profit-sharing mechanisms and environmental needs.

People and Equity

Communities and Place

Establish a Grangemouth Industrial Cluster Skills offer that will support the industrial transition.

Develop a skills offer, tailored to existing and future requirements specific to the cluster, built on an evidence-led outline of future skills requirements and informed by the industrial cluster strategy. Efforts should embed equality and access to opportunity, particularly for local people at its core.

Work collaboratively with partners to co-ordinate and develop existing STEM outreach programmes to maximise impact. Create with partners a bespoke programme of STEM activity that incorporates specific needs as identified for the Grangemouth industrial cluster.

The STEM outreach programme will work with partners to highlight career opportunities, learning/skills pathways into STEM, future jobs. It will engage a wide range of audiences, including those currently under-represented in STEM subjects and careers.

Partners will collaborate to promote and develop a flexible and digitally enabled reskilling programme for the Grangemouth industrial cluster to enable the existing and future workforce to enhance their skills, competency, and qualifications quickly and easily.

Jobs, Skills and Economic Opportunities

People and Equity

Improve the
co-ordination of initiatives across the Forth Valley, to ensure that the Grangemouth industrial cluster is given appropriate attention, as well as enhancing surrounding communities' access to opportunities.

Ensure alignment across the Forth Valley Skills Action Plan currently under development, as well as wider initiatives such as the Forth Green Freeport and Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal.

Consider as part of a wider initiative the approach to apprenticeship programmes which can support industry requirements at the cluster.

People and Equity

Jobs Skills and Economic Opportunities

Secure UK Government and Scottish Government funding for Project Willow and other early-stage scoping studies to underpin the long-term Grangemouth Industrial Cluster Strategy.

Project Willow can be used as a test bed for collaboration on funding between the UK Government and Scottish Government on the Cluster's transition. By co-funding the project, both governments can signal to industry that targeted resources can be made available for the right programmes and at sufficient scale to encourage further investment propositions as part of the evolving Cluster Strategy.

Jobs, Skills and Economic Opportunities

Communities and Places

People and Equity

Develop and proactively promote a comprehensive and attractive investment proposition for the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster to attract private sector investment.

The Grangemouth Industrial Cluster Strategy should come to form a detailed investment prospectus for the future of the manufacturing base. Public sector funding support, will only be part of the solution for effective decarbonisation at Grangemouth. The Cluster can and must go further by developing a detailed and compelling investment proposition to attract inward investment at the site. This must go further than traditional investment options to consider social investment and ownership. In doing so there is the potential to access billions of pounds for future industrial decarbonisation at the site that also supports community wealth building.

People and Equity

Maximise the value of existing government funding e.g., Green Freeport, Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal, Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal to ensure that the cluster is given required attention.

A complex landscape of government-backed growth and investment deals risks providing a confusing landscape for businesses to navigate for financial support at Grangemouth. Steps should be taken to ensure that companies and other stakeholders don't miss opportunities to apply for funding resources, government should work closely with Cluster partners to ensure new funding streams are accessible by businesses engaged in decarbonisation. More collaboration between the various deals could create more focused outcomes for Grangemouth.

People and Equity

Significantly increase the visibility, pace and ambition of the Greener Grangemouth Programme with a clear plan of realistic actions that deliver positive impact, build confidence and create momentum.

Greener Grangemouth is a Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal funded initiative, focused on improving the wider town of Grangemouth through the transition to net zero, towards developing a greener, safer and more prosperous town centre. GFIB should work proactively with the Green Grangemouth programme team to consider options for expanding / accelerating the Greener Growth programme as a strong example of a Community Wealth Building initiative.

Communities and Place

People and Equity

Environment and Biodiversity

Define and deliver a focused, time-bound study to develop a plan to improve public transport links, connectivity and accessibility around the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster.

Integrate the programme with the interests of the Cluster and ensure that each initiative is mutually supporting with strong leadership and a focus on delivery.

Communities and Place

People and Equity

Place – Develop a place-based Just Transition Deal.

Jointly funded by the UK and Scottish Governments together with industry and focused on the industrial transition and social transformation of Grangemouth.

The Scottish Government and UK Government should explore the potential for a place-based strategic funding and regulatory approach to Grangemouth. They should investigate the potential for a dedicated Grangemouth Transition Deal to target interventions and provide the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster partners with ready opportunities to access support at sufficient scale.

Jobs, Skills and Economic Opportunities

Communities and Place

People and Equity

Environment and Biodiversity

Define and establish best practice community engagement guidelines for partners in the Cluster Strategy, to deliver a consistent approach to community empowerment in decision-making.

Just Transition policy makes clear that community should be a vested partner in developing plans for the future transition to net zero, as a stakeholder group that stands to be significantly affected by change. However, meaningful engagement can be challenging given the diversity of community groups and perspectives, as well as ensuring that engagement is accessible and inclusive of all views. GFIB should establish a ratified means of engaging and involving community representatives in the work of the Grangemouth Future Industry Board.

Communities and Place

People and Equity

Fund a recognised Community Engagement and Participation Manager, who will act as the local community champion, who will engage with communities and local leaders and influencers to raise awareness and empower the community.

The Scottish Government is funding a Community Engagement and Participation Manager to work with local communities across Grangemouth, focused on creating new links with the community and providing a voice for community ideas and concerns on GFIB.

Communities and Place

People and Equity

Explore the development of a local Procurement Framework that encourages and incentivises operating companies to procure goods and services from local companies, working to enhance community wealth building.

Procurement can be a powerful tool in building community wealth in local economies. The Grangemouth cluster already has a strong link to local supply chains, as outline in our baseline. GFIB will work to consider what ways procurement can be utilised to grow this as the site transitions to net zero to ensure local supply chains can support employment in the area and retain wealth locally.

Jobs, Skills and Economic Opportunities

Communities and Place

People and Equity

Action

Detail

JT Outcome

Establish a supplier development programme backed by UK and Scottish governments and their agencies to build the capacity of SMEs to participate in the green economy.

As the cluster evolves and reduces emissions/ diversifies production, there will be an increased opportunity for SMEs to access and participate in the Cluster Strategy. This work should help prepare a pipeline of suppliers for the core cluster, supporting the realisation of sustainable, net zero growth, at pace.

This should include Grangemouth Industrial Cluster Supply Chain Forum underpinned by a membership model and connecting suppliers across the cluster to project opportunities.

Jobs, Skills and Economic Opportunities

Create an annual Grangemouth Industrial Decarbonisation Expo held in Forth Valley, bringing together local, national and international companies to share knowledge, technologies and solutions.

In the medium-to-long term, Grangemouth can become an exemplar across Scotland, the UK and internationally for successful industrial decarbonisation. Opportunities should be sought to create an annual expo that brings together Cluster partners and global partners to share knowledge, ideas and solutions and provide a helpful backdrop for further commercial development discussions. In time, this could become a revenue-generating initiative.

Jobs, Skills and Economic Opportunities

Harness the coordinated support of trade bodies and other supply chain support organisations by creating a specific campaign to promote the cluster strategy and opportunities at Grangemouth.

The overall supply chain at Grangemouth encompasses a wide range of sectors, each of which is supported by networks of trade organisations with footprints across Scotland, the UK and the rest of the world. Opportunities should be explored to harness the reach of these networks through the creation of bespoke campaigns to promote the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster – and the investment and commercial opportunities it represents – to their memberships.

Jobs, Skills and Economic Opportunities

In line with the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster Strategy, develop a distinctive brand identity and narrative to position the cluster with key audiences and stakeholders.

Most successful industrial clusters in the UK and across Europe have developed a cohesive and compelling Cluster narrative. We recommend that once a Cluster Strategy has been developed and approved for Grangemouth, it ensures that the key components of this are developed with a brand and messaging designed to make appeal to investors locally, nationally and internationally.

Jobs, Skills and Economic Opportunities

Communities and Place

People and Equity

Develop and resource the delivery of a communication and marketing programme to promote the cluster – its ambition, goals, commercial opportunities, impact and benefits.

Once a clear brand and strategic narrative has been developed, the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster can be promoted through an integrated communication and marketing programme that brings the aims of its partners to life for a diverse range of audiences. The aim will be to showcase the Cluster's goals, ambitions, values and the commercial opportunity that it represents for investors to bring business to the site.

Jobs, Skills and Economic Opportunities

Communities and Place

People and Equity