Our planet is in crisis
We have an extraordinary ambition: to become a truly regenerative University.
Our strategy focuses on the environmental polycrisis. Multiple crises that are interconnected, interacting, and reinforcing one another.
We're leading one of the most ambitious sustainability plans in UK higher education, moving beyond damage limitation to actively repair and regenerate our world.
What do we mean by regenerative sustainability?
Seeking to minimise negative environmental impacts while actively restoring natural, biophysical systems, to ensure a net positive environmental and social impact.
What makes this strategy so extraordinary?
Our strategy goes further than minimising harm, proactively restoring natural systems to benefit both nature and people.
‘Regenerative sustainability: our pathway beyond net zero’ sets out our plans to go further than minimising harm, proactively restoring natural systems to benefit both nature and people. The strategy guides how we will address the interlinked planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
Through substantial consultation and collaborative planning, we have co-created a science-backed, achievable approach that rises to the challenge of the multifaceted environmental crisis we face. We’ll continue to partner with other universities, governments, the city region and industry to drive systemic change beyond our University.
We can’t do this alone and will need your help to create a more regenerative future for us all.
Our new strategy represents a significant step change in effort to find innovative solutions across every area of our University. We call on people within and beyond our community to join us in recognising the scale of this challenge and to take action for a regenerative future.
Strategy document
Download the full strategy document in PDF format.
Regenerative sustainability: our pathway beyond net zero 2025 to 2040
To request these documents in an accessible format, or to share your thoughts, ideas and questions about this strategy, please email: srs.department@ed.ac.uk
Take action
At Edinburgh, you're part of a community dedicated to making positive impacts for the environment and the world. We provide sustainability opportunities for everyone, from staff and students to school children and business leaders.
Stories of sustainability
Our Forest and Peatland programme is unlocking learning and teaching opportunities for our students and staff, as our woodland creation sites become a living lab.
From environmental stewardship to community care and climate education, donor support is helping to accelerate the University’s response to the climate crisis in diverse and meaningful ways.
A drug to treat Parkinson’s disease can be made from waste plastic bottles using a pioneering method, a study shows.
Products and services that we purchase account for over half of the University's emissions. Our new approach aims to help suppliers and buying organisations cut supply chain emissions and improve transparency.
Our commitments
Research and innovation
Our University delivers world-leading research across all key relevant disciplines, from earth systems, biodiversity, energy and manufacturing to space, health and inequalities, climate finance and environmental politics.
We’ll deploy and leverage our exceptional research and innovation capability to increase our contribution to solving interlinked environmental crises.
- We will further resource our community of climate, nature and environment researchers and associated innovation ecosystem of academics, entrepreneurs and industry partners.
- We will extend our partnerships and engagement, working, for example, through the Scotland Beyond Net Zero partnership to drive real-world solutions through transdisciplinary, cross-University work in partnership with industry and government.
- We will maximise our impact through ethically informed engagement and influence, demonstrating our national and international research leadership on climate, nature and environment in the way we collaborate and work.
Operations
In our operations, we will address environmental issues beyond carbon emissions and waste, such as water, chemicals and wider resource use.
We’ll be carbon net negative by sequestering more carbon emissions than we generate, nature net positive by regenerating ecological systems beyond any damage caused, and circular in our approach to our use of resources.
- A 1.5°C aligned decarbonisation pathway will achieve net zero carbon by 2040 and net negative carbon in due course. Targets apply to scope 1, 2 and all scope 3 emissions.
- We will regenerate ecological systems across a land footprint at least five times the size of our campuses, while ecologically regenerating our own campuses, by 2040.
- We will drive a step-change in reducing biodiversity loss, chemical pollution, water impacts and resource use both within and beyond our operations by engaging our suppliers and partners.
- We will work to ensure our University is resilient and ready for the impacts of the polycrisis, from flooding to supply chain disruption.
Learning and teaching
Every career path interacts with climate, nature and sustainability issues. Our students, having had access to world-leading education in climate and nature as part of whichever degree they choose, will graduate with the required understanding, competencies and values they need to build a successful career.
- By 2030, all students will have access to climate and nature learning experiences that are meaningfully embedded in their curriculum.
- By 2030, we will train at least 5,000 staff, students and alumni on carbon literacy, biodiversity literacy and more, regardless of role or programme of study.
People and culture
Our staff and students believe that a regenerative approach is critical to the University delivering world-leading research, learning and teaching. The University Executive and Court have made a bold and public commitment to support this, and these values are embedded in our culture and actions. At the heart of this strategy are our People and Culture.
We will support our communities to champion regenerative sustainability:
- The majority of staff and students in our community will be aware of the polycrisis, with many inspired to lead or be involved in realising our regenerative sustainability vision.
- Regenerative sustainability will be embedded through the staff and student experience and visible in their behaviours.
- The majority of staff and students will feel well-informed and confident when making sustainability-related decisions.
Extraordinary sustainability
World leading for sustainability
The University of Edinburgh is ranked 4th in the world, 2nd in the UK, and 3rd in Europe in the QS World University Rankings 2026: Sustainability.
Sustainability education matters to us
We’ve trained more than 12,500 staff and students since the start of the 2023/24 academic year.
Continuing research matters
We've established more than 35 research centres, institutes, networks and groups focused on climate, nature and wider environmental issues.
Ethical investment
Completed divestment from fossil fuels in 2021 and reduced carbon from our equities portfolio by 64 per cent since 2018.
Monitor our progress and performance
Our strategy outlines science-based environmental targets for every aspect of what we do, from research and teaching to our operations and organisational culture. The strategy spans 2025 to 2040, with a mid-point review. Progress will be reported annually.
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