Our environmental sustainability commitments are embedded within our University Strategy. The commitments focus on our net zero carbon target; our academic, research and professional expertise; and embedment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) throughout our work. Our commitments were developed by our university community.
Strategic commitment
The following commitments are embedded within our University Strategy:
- Net zero carbon: “we will take progressive action to achieve net zero carbon in our operations by 2030 at the latest. We will also seek to minimise both our wider and legacy carbon footprint and influence sustainable practices within and beyond our campuses.”
- Our expertise and motivation: “we will combine the expertise and motivation of our community to enhance environmental sustainability within and beyond the university through our curriculum, research, operations, partnerships and engagement” and “we will align and build academic excellence focused on Wellbeing & Sustainability, underpinned by the themes of: Health; Environment; AI & Technologies; and Culture & Communities.”
- Embedding and measuring success: “we will demonstrate delivery against Scotland’s National Performance Framework and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We will join our further and higher education peers by signing the Sustainable Development Goals Accord.”
Environmental Sustainability Strategy
To support purposeful action and provide detailed explanation of our commitments we published our inaugural Environmental Sustainability Strategy (ESS) during our 2021/22 academic year. Governance of the ESS is led by the Environmental Sustainability Board of Governance (ESSBG). Our dedicated ESSBG page provides a detailed overview the ESSBG including governance and membership.
ESSBG members worked with PwC (internal auditors contracted by the university) during the latter half of 2023/24 and start of 2024/25 to conduct a detailed and independent review the ESS. The work also included a review of overall environmental sustainability progress, governance principles, data control and reporting. As a result, the University significantly reviewed the ESS and published an update as included at the bottom of this page.
Internal reporting
Quarterly ESSBG minutes are shared with the University Leadership Team (ULT). Annual progress reports are provided to the University Court and Finance & Property Committee (a committee of Court). The measurement of operational carbon emissions (tCO2e) is an internal key performance indicator at the university. Carbon data is available within the Net Zero Carbon pages.
Achievement of our University Strategy commitments is included within the 2024/25 and 2025/26 risk register at the University. For that reason, regular updates are provided to the Audit & Risk Committee (a committee of Court) to highlight all progressive actions. Internal monitoring of all environmental sustainability aspects is continual at Edinburgh Napier, with a live picture of progress including future modelling available. Please contact environment@napier.ac.uk for more information.
External reporting
The University provides an array of environmental sustainability information to a range of external partners. This includes a legal requirement to provide an annual Public Bodies Climate Change Duties (PBCCD) report to the Scottish Government. The annual reports provide a detailed overview of environmental sustainability including governance; emissions and projects; adaptation; and procurement. All reports submitted between 2014/15 and 2023/24 are publicly available within the Sustainable Scotland Network website.
The University also submits annual reports to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Estates Management Record (EMR). The HESA EMR reports include around 450 data points and encapsulate wider information sets such as space and space utilisation. The data allows the University to record and report data against a number of agreed matrix including finance (£m annual budget), students (full time equivalent), staff (full time equivalent) and space (m2).