The Materials Processing Institute has appointed resource efficiency specialist Andrew Buchanan as its Group Manager for the Circular Economy.
He is experienced in working across a range of sectors across the globe in identifying opportunities to design waste and pollution out of the industrial process, with a particular interest in low carbon technology and carbon capture and storage.
With an ability to bridge the management, engineering and scientific disciplines, Andrew is also an accomplished speaker, having previously presented scientific and technical papers to the North American Biorenewables Development Consortium, the Global Waste to Energy and Resources Summit in London and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
He joins the Teesside-based Institute from consulting and engineering firm Mabbett Ltd, where he was Regional Manager and Principal Environmental Consultant, based in the Tees Valley.
As well as being responsible for supporting existing clients and delivering new business growth, he is the author of the draft Tees Valley Combined Authority Energy Strategy, setting out a roadmap for the decarbonisation of the area by 2040.
Prior to that he was Business Development Manager for Wilton-based plastic to oil recycling specialists ReNew ELP Limited and a member of the investment team at Newcastle-based Armstrong Energy Ltd. He began his career in 1999 as a geologist with Cleveland Potash, where he spent five years.
Hailing from Renfrewshire, the married father-of-three has a BSc in Geology and Applied Geology at the University of Glasgow and an MSc in Environmental Technology at Teesside University.
As the Institute’s Group Manager for the Circular Economy, Andrew will lead the development of innovations that maximise resource efficiency through manufacturing and process optimisation.
The group will also focus on extracting value from waste, identifying technologies and recovering materials that will reduce resource consumption while also reducing waste generation. It currently works with a range of partners to develop, pilot, and commercialise technologies and processes that support the development of a circular economy.
Chris McDonald, the Institute’s Chief Executive, said: “Andrew joins us with a wealth of experience within the low carbon and environmental protection sectors, including leading technology start-up ventures from concept through to delivery stage.
“His 21-year career has spanned a number of industrial and business sectors from mining and petrochemicals through to renewable energy regeneration and his expertise makes him a perfect choice to lead innovation for the development of a circular economy which is crucial both for the economy and our planet.”
Andrew Buchanan said: “I’m excited at this opportunity to contribute to the internationally-acclaimed innovation which takes place here at the Institute and to help shape its long-term strategy.”