Sustainable Thinking Scotland CIC First Recipient of FirstPort Catalyst Funding

That the Parliament welcomes the investment of £190,000 in Sustainable Thinking Scotland (STS) CIC, which is based in Bo’ness, from the Catalyst Fund that is administered by FirstPort and Social Enterprise Scotland, as part of £15 million investment by the Scottish Government; understands that STS is a social enterprise, which was established in 2017, by Stephen McQueen and Sean Kerr, to help tackle social inequality and environmental issues in Bo’ness; notes that this investment will help fund the development of its biochar water remediation technology, which involves baking waste wood and other biomass at high temperatures, which can draw down carbon from the atmosphere into the soil, storing it for hundreds to thousands of years; highlights that biochar was described in the 2019 IPCC Special Report, Climate Change and Land, as a "product that could make a significant contribution to mitigating both land degradation and climate change, simultaneously"; considers that the work of STS is vital to helping people in communities around Bo’ness have access to nutritious fruit, vegetables and other produce from the farm it runs at Kinneil Estate; commends both Stephen and Sean on their remarkable work in giving freely to the communities they care so passionately about, while developing technologies that have the potential to significantly and positively impact our environment and climate; wishes Stephen, Sean and everyone involved in STS continued success, and looks forward to their plans coming to fruition.