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Meet the Buyer North 2021: Let's Do Net Zero Stage

What's on the Let's Do Net Zero Stage at Meet the Buyer North 2021?

Meet the Buyer North is taking place on 7 September, and there will be two stages: the Power of Procurement stage and Let’s Do Net Zero stage.

In addition to meeting buyers and decision makers in the virtual Exhibit Hall, suppliers are invited to watch presentations throughout the day and participate in live Question and Answer sessions with speakers.

Each stage has a slightly different timetable, with in-built time for visiting the virtual exhibition stands. As there is not enough time in the day to attend every single session, the Supplier Development Programme encourages all suppliers to plan an individualised agenda in advance to suit the needs of their business.

All presentations, including each live question and answer session, will be available on the Supplier Development Programme’s YouTube Channel after the event. Please click to subscribe!

Both stages will begin with a Plenary:

10:00am Meet the Buyer North 2021 Opens

• A keynote address by SDP in the Highlands and Islands, delivered by Diane Beattie, Moray Council Payments Manager and Fiona Conti, Strategic Procurement Manager at Aberdeenshire Aberdeen City and Highland Council Shared Procurement Service. The duo will chat over a virtual coffee after a joint speech.

10:10am Ministerial Address (Subject to Parliamentary Business)

• Welcome from Ivan McKee MSP, Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism & Enterprise

Let's Do Net Zero

The Let’s Do Net Zero stage will begin at 11:00am with a presentation called ‘Circular Economy, Fair Work First & Net Zero with the Shared Procurement Service'. Suppliers will hear from Stuart Calderwood, Community Benefits and Sustainability Procurement Manager for the Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City and Highland Council, as well as Emily Stone, Climate and Sustainability Business Development Manager at Edinburgh Science and Lynn Anderson, a Manager at Living Wage Scotland. The presentation will be followed by a live question and answer session moderated by Gillian Cameron, SDP Programme Manager, and suppliers will be invited to ask the panel questions - and have them answered!

At 11:45am, a presentation on "Growth Community Wealth: The Role of Suppliers" will begin with Neil McInroy, Community Wealth Building Advisor to Scottish Government. This will be followed by a live Q&A session where suppliers can ask any questions they may have.

In the afternoon at 12:15pm, a session on Top Tips for Tendering will be led by Gill Joy of Intend Business Development on behalf of the Supplier Development Programme. After the presentation, Gillian Cameron, SDP Programme Manager, will moderate a panel with SDP's expert trainers, including Julie Caughey, Caughey Solutions, John Clark, JI Management Ltd., and Gill Joy to answer suppliers' questions on how to get tender ready.

At 12:45 there will be in-build in time for the suppliers to visit the virtual exhibition stands.

The Sustainable Food Places, Granite City Good Food, and the Sustainable Food Places Partnership in Aberdeen will be giving a presentation at 2:00pm by Martian Carle, Sustainable Food Coordinator at CFINE and followed by a live Q&A session.

At 2:30pm there will be a presentation by Steven Menzies, Zero Waste Scotland's Head of Procurement and Grants. After the presentation he will be available for a live Q&A session to answer any questions suppliers may have on the Zero Waste Scotland exhibition stall.

At 3:00pm, SCDI’s Policy Manager, David Kelly will talk the audience through the five key steps to net zero followed by a Q&A session with Clare Reid, Director of Policy, Public Affairs, SCDI Scottish Council for Development and Industry, Daniel Gotts, Policy Manager, Nature Scot and Fiona Conti, Strategic Procurement Manager at Aberdeenshire, City and Highland Council Shared Procurement Service.

The Meet the Buyer North event closes at 4:00pm sharp.

Next Steps