Edinburgh Campus and Sustainability

On the edge of one of world's most beautiful cities, with an exceptional quality of life, our Edinburgh campus is set on 380 acres of park and woodland. Its mix of habitats make it the focus of significant biodiversity preservation efforts and it offers our campus community  fantastic opportunities to appreciate the local natural environment. The centre of the campus, the Lawn and Central Woodlands hold the Green Flag Award reflecting achievements across criteria including access, biodiversity. conservation and community involvement. There is also a busy campus allotment, managed by the grounds and estates team, where students and staff can connect over growing their own food.

The campus lies close to active travel corridors (cycling map), and we are working with partners including Sustrans to further improve active and sustainable travel options. A range of facilities to support bike commuting have led to the campus being awarded Cycling Scotland's 'Cycle Friendly Campus' award, with Distinction. We look forward to improving this over the coming months. 

Campus Trails

Staff, students and our local community can enjoy a selection of themed campus trails on foot. by bike or with their four-legged friends. Interactive versions of our Discovery Trail and Tree Trail allow you to explore and chart your location in real time via a mobile device.

Biodiversity

Our campus location on an historic country estate with an ornamental loch and extensive mature woodland enables a wide array of flora and fauna to thrive. Our Landscape Team work hard to support and enhance biodiversity on our beautiful campus - please consult our Biodiversity Action Plan for further information.

Building in Sustainability

Our Edinburgh campus building stock has grown in recent years, and with it our ability to feature modern, energy efficient design and renewable energy generation. Our award-winning Global Research Innovation and Discovery (GRID) building was designed with a passive approach to sustainability and energy efficiency, achieving a BREEAM Excellent status and commendation at the Scottish Design Awards. You can take a tour of the GRID building.

National-Robotarium-exterior-landscape

Due for completion in summer 2022, The National Robotarium building's innovative design maintains a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency. In winter the recycling of warm air will be maximised to limit heating demands, while an ecological zone will integrate sustainable urban drainage systems with surrounding natural water features. A substantial 100kW rooftop solar PV array will help to meet the building's energy requirements, with any remaining electricity supplied, as for the whole campus, via a renewable energy tariff. Read more about the National Robotarium's building construction.

Campus Services

Our Campus Services are responsible for the development and implementation of our environmental, energy and sustainability policies.

We have a Carbon Management Plan and various initiatives in place to reduce our energy consumption and to promote recycling, and each year we submit a climate change report to the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN).

We hope that while you are studying with us, you can play your part in helping us to minimise waste, reduce our energy use and recycle as much as possible.

Recycling

Find out how to recycle on campus.