How Scotland’s chemical sciences sector can power economy

An Edinburgh electrochemist who will soon become the first ever female president of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has highlighted the importance of the chemical science sector in helping to secure Scotland’s economic future.

Professor Lesley Yellowlees, Inorganic Electrochemist at Edinburgh University, spoke out in The Scotsman on the day of a RSC Science and the Parliament event, touching upon the huge export market for the chemical science industry in Scotland.

And the Edinburgh University graduate appealed for policy makers to ensure that Scotland continues to be promoted as an attractive location for chemical science companies.

Professor Yellowlees wrote, “It would be wrong to downplay the role science already plays when it comes to powering Scotland’s economy and in particular my field of chemical sciences. For example the chemical sciences sector is our second highest exporter – second only to whisky. The sector directly employs 14,000 people with annual exports of £2.8 billion.

“But there is far more work to be done if we are to take advantage of the existing strengths we have in this high value industry. We need to ensure that public policy makes Scotland an attractive location for the leading global chemicals companies and ensure our SMEs have a seat at the table.”

The event brought together politicians and scientists from across the country, including Finance Secretary John Swinney and the Scottish Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Anne Glover.

“In many ways, science is the perfect place to start when it comes to curing our economic ills,” Professor Yellowlees continued. “Science and its practitioners have always prided themselves in finding the answers today to the problems of tomorrow. I have every confidence that today us scientists can help our economists find some answers too.”