Edinburgh’s long-standing commitment to a whole-university approach to sustainability has contributed to the University being ranked 7th in the world and joint 2nd in the UK for our success in creating a more sustainable world through our research, teaching, partnerships and operations. We can and we will do more.

Two University strategies outline our plan to unlock solutions to the climate and environment crisis and become a regenerative university.

1. Regenerative Sustainability Strategy: The University of Edinburgh is working to become an environmentally regenerative university. From the energy we use to the emissions from student travel to study here, we will be carbon net negative, nature net-positive and circular in our resource use.  

2. Research and Innovation Strategy 2030: This emphasises the central role of universities in unlocking solutions to global challenges and names “tackling the climate and environment crisis” as one of the three University research and innovation missions.

The Edinburgh Earth Initiative works to accelerate interdisciplinary research, partnerships and innovation for the climate and environmental emergency across the University of Edinburgh.

Recognising that the climate and environment crises are not limited to a single discipline, the Edinburgh Earth Initiative was established as a strategic, agile, cross-University unit, rather than an organisation such as an institute or school.

We drive resources towards core research on six challenges areas: Data for Sustainability, Future Food Systems, Circular Economy, Clean Energy Systems, Sustainable Cities and One Health.

We help to foster innovations that deliver real-world impacts on climate mitigation and adaptation; we help ensure that climate and environmental is central to our international partnerships; we work to make academic knowledge available to decision makers in business, industry, policymaking institutions, regulatory authorities, and civil society organisations; and we put climate justice at the centre of our institutional commitments.

In order to deliver a step change in the University’s climate and environment research and innovation, the Edinburgh Earth Initiative was launched at COP26 in November 2021.

In its initial phase, the Earth Initiative’s successes have included: launching the Earth Fellows Programme and the Scotland Beyond Net Zero partnership, the establishment of the Earth Forum and the deepening of collaborations with partners in Africa and Asia that will support a just transition.

We acknowledge the institution’s history and legacy. First opened to students in 1583, in the 18th century the Scottish Enlightenment established the University of Edinburgh as a global centre of scientific enquiry, technological innovation, and critical thinking. Over the next 200 years, University of Edinburgh knowledge and inventions played a crucial role in unlocking fossil fuels as a new source of energy – helping to power the industrial revolution and driving the colonial exploitation of natural resources.

Building on our learning to date and feedback from across the University, this revised strategy for the Edinburgh Earth Initiative charts the course for the next five years, 2025-2030. It outlines the outcomes the Initiative aims to achieve and the activities to get us there.

Read Edinburgh Earth Initiative Strategy 2025-2030 here