Green Gown Awards 2011 - Continuous Improvement (Institutional Change) - University of Edinburgh

Continuous Investment in Social Responsibility and Sustainability Measures

Since its launch in 1990, the University of Edinburgh’s sustainability programme has achieved significant positive impact across the University and contributes to sector-wide improvements in performance. The University leads by example through a whole-institution approach to creating a living laboratory and embedding commitments to social responsibility and sustainability in its policies, strategies and procedures. Its Social Responsibility and Sustainability Strategy 2010-2020 reflects the practical achievements and sets its aspirations, its direction and its steps on the journey forwards over the next decade.

The university has thus registered a number of achievements, such as halving the carbon footprints of students since 1990, cutting the University’s carbon footprint by over 30 per cent in relative terms since 1990 and reducing landfill waste, with a 2010/11 recycling rate of over 67 per cent against a sector average of 45 per cent.