Edinburgh’s tourism businesses are making changes to the way they operate, which will help Edinburgh achieve its net zero by 2030 target and help in the drive to attract and retain staff and appeal to increasingly eco-conscious consumers. From hotels sourcing renewable energy contracts, to restaurants reducing their food waste to tour operators committed to re-wilding through their ‘Trees for Life’ programme – there’s a lot happening
Quick Wins and Top Tips for local tourism business
Start here for some easy ways to kick start your net zero journey.
Edinburgh’s circular economy
With the increasing pressures on finite materials, a circular economy means the end of our current “take/make/dispose” approach and goes beyond recycling: it requires an organisation to rethink its relationships with suppliers and visitors, so that value is retained, waste is avoided as much as possible, and materials are re-circulated within Edinburgh.
Explore Edinburgh’s circular economy
How Edinburgh’s tourism business are measuring and monitoring their activities
As businesses engage more fully with a green approach, they need to start keeping a close eye on consumption of energy and water, and how much waste they produce. How else will we know if Edinburgh is progressing towards net zero by 2030. So here are the ways to measure your carbon footprint or monitor your energy consumption.
Discover Edinburgh’s measures and monitors
Edinburgh’s Green Tourism Scotland accredited business
There is growing pressure from visitors, corporate and public sector clients to demonstrate verifiable green credentials – and there has been great take-up from Edinburgh tourism business to the best known green schemes. 55% of all Green tourism “gold” members located in Edinburgh – time to start the accreditation journey?
Organisations that can help
There are lots of organisations trying to help businesses go green and move towards net zero. It’s a complicated landscape, and the key ones are listed here.
Identify organisations that can help.
The Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG) also has some helpful information for operators on the importance of Responsible Tourism.
VisitScotland Responsible tourism advice
VisitScotland is one of the national tourism organisations that is setting the pace globally both in terms of how they operate “responsibly” and how they help tourism businesses.
Pledges and declarations
Signing up to one of the green pledges available in Edinburgh demonstrates that you are making a public commitment to acting responsibly – using energy, water and raw materials more efficiently throughout your operations.
Electric Vehicle Charging in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is investing in its infrastructure as electric car purchases continue to rise. And tourism businesses should be thinking about how they can attract EV users by offering charge points to staff and visitors, which can attract grant funding.
Case studies
Need some inspiration? Want to know what Edinburgh’s tourism businesses are already doing to help the city reach Net Zero? Here are some examples.
