New Net Zero report from IBioIC

In a new net zero report on the benefits of sugar beet for Scottish Enterprise, we found that growing sugar beet in Scotland and processing the crop at a purpose-built biorefinery facility initially producing bioethanol could support thousands of jobs and make a significant contribution to the Scotland’s net zero ambitions. The report found that at least 815 Scottish jobs could be directly created by moving towards domestically produced bioethanol as a sustainable feedstock for manufacturing, along with hundreds more through associated supply chain and logistics services. Switching to a local supply of bioethanol, rather than relying on importing it from Europe as Scotland currently does, could significantly reduce the Scotland’s carbon footprint by more than 280,000 tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of taking nearly 61,000 cars off the road per year.

Sugar extracted from sugar beet can be used in the production of ethanol as a natural and sustainable substitute for petroleum-based chemicals used in a range of household goods, as well as antibiotics, therapeutic proteins, and for transportation.

Read the media announcement from IBioIC, backed by Scottish Government’s Minister for Business Trade Tourism and Enterprise Ivan McKee MSP and Scottish Enterprise’s Managing Director Linda Hanna. News coverage of the story can be found here.