Former Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman MP and Barry Sheerman MP are to co-chair a joint inquiry into remanufacturing.
A call for evidence has been launched to examine the growth potential of the UK’s remanufacturing sector and is being jointly conducted by the All-Party Parliamentary Groups for Manufacturing (APMG) and Sustainable Resource (APSRG).
It follows the APSRG’s March 2014 report Remanufacturing: Towards a Resource Efficient Economy, which laid out key growth opportunities and challenges facing the UK remanufacturing sector.
The new inquiry will build on this report and will explore ways in which lessons can be learned from best practice case studies in key industries such as the automotive industry and be applied to sectors such as WEEE.
It will also examine the extent to which current Government policy is structured towards promoting such remanufacturing growth, as well as analysing how different businesses have successfully adopted remanufacturing processes into their business models.
Caroline Spelman (pictured) said: “This new inquiry comes at a critical time. It is clear to us the importance of remanufacturing in terms of both resource security and economic potential is not yet fully appreciated by Parliamentarians or UK industry.
“The future of manufacturing is inextricably linked to environmental sustainability, reducing the consumption of virgin raw materials, and exploiting new areas of comparative advantage.
“We believe the Government must do more. Firstly, to better understand the huge environmental and economic potential that remanufacturing offers, and secondly to create precisely the policy and regulatory framework needed in order for UK businesses to fully embrace it.
“Barry Sheerman added: “This inquiry allows us to ask detailed questions about how we can put remanufacturing at the heart of the UK economy. What are the barriers to take up? How can they be addressed at local, national and international levels? What can Government do? What can manufacturers do? What role can SMEs play in sparking small scale remanufacturing innovation?
“This inquiry is not about banging drums to prove the benefits of remanufacturing – the benefits are clear. This inquiry is about finding out what we need to do now and in the future to put a more resilient UK at the forefront of global remanufacturing innovation.”
The window for evidence submissions closes on 26 September and the inquiry will issue its report before Christmas.
