Edinburgh University Action for the Climate Dave Gorman

Edinburgh University - #Action for the Climate Dave Gorman Director of Social Responsibility and Sustainability

“make a significant, sustainable and socially responsible contribution to Scotland, the UK and the world, promoting health, economic growth and cultural wellbeing”

Strategic context We exist to enable the University to understand, explain and deliver on its ambition to be a leading socially responsible and sustainable University. We are here

Who Are SRS? Providing high quality advice, support and action on social responsibility and sustainability • We understand explain what the important risks and opportunities are • We develop the University’s response to these challenges and opportunities • We deliver and facilitate programmes to catalyse action and collaboration across campus

• We run dozens of events per year with c 5, 000 attending - for example in 2014 George Monbiot spoke to 550 people on ‘rewilding’

Our emissions 2007 -14

Our emissions vs turnover

Climate strategy The journey towards new climate change targets, funding and approaches.

2013: 1. 5 MWe CHP engine for 2003: 526 k. We CHP engine for Pollock Halls 2004: 2. 7 MWe CHP engine for King’s Bldgs … invested £ 20+million in Decentralised Energy / CHP 2005: 1. 6 MWe CHP engine for George Sq Edinburgh: “University in the City” Holyrood/Pleasance

Pollock Halls of Residence in 2003

Waste emissions 2007 -14

Towards a circular economy?

How We Invest Matters…University of Edinburgh endowment funds (2013)

Edinburgh Action for the Climate • One of the Senior Vice-Principal’s priorities, 'Edinburgh Action for the Climate' will harness the expertise of the University’s many academics currently conducting ground-breaking research into areas such as carbon capture and storage and renewable energy • The University’s aim is to become a hub within the wider city for the exchange of ideas and opinions about how best to tackle one of the great global challenges

Transport and Travel Planning Policy • In the Transport and Travel Planning Policy adopted in 2010, the University committed to develop and implement innovative travel plans, to reduce carbon emissions through the promotion of active forms of travel • The average individual travel carbon footprint per staff member has significantly reduced by 35% with the carbon footprint per student reduced by 28% between 2010 and 2013. • The Staff and Student Travel Survey is undertaken every two years to capture this information

• 88% of staff and students walk, cycle or use public transport • The proportion of staff and students who use sustainable modes of travel continues to increase • Overall across all sites and all students and staff – 11% cycle to the University each day • Overall annual CO 2 e emissions from commuting – 9, 457 tonnes (estimate)

Cycling • A small fleet of electric pool bikes – our e. Cycle scheme • A student bike hire scheme – Uni. Cycles • Roadshow series to engage with cyclists on safety and security issues • Free Bike Register • Subsidised Gold Secure D-locks • Cycle to Work scheme

Our students and staff are being supported and encouraged by the investments being made in the city's cycling infrastructure. We provide: • Secure and sheltered cycle parking • General cycle parking • Free Bike toolkits • Free Dr Bike sessions (more than 30 per year) • Free cycle training, and University staff qualified to deliver cycle training & Bicycle User Groups

Student Bike Hire Scheme - Unicycles • The University was selected by Cycling Scotland as one of its partner institutions helping to develop the new Cycle Friendly Campus Award. We benefitted from a £ 50 k grant which was used to develop the University’s first ever student bike hire scheme • The scheme is based at our main accommodation site – Pollock Halls. We chose Pollock as it is home to 2, 500 1 st year students, new to the city whom we wanted to encourage from day 1 to think of cycling as the obvious transportation choice. A fleet of 50 brand new Ridgeback Hybrids were snapped up by the end of Fresher’s Week

Student Bike Hire Scheme - Unicycles • These were hired out for £ 30 for semester 1 (plus £ 50 deposit). • Working with the Wee Spoke Hub at SHRUB we also offered the students the Cycling Scotland Essential Cycle Skills Course – a practical course designed to provide students with the skills and confidence to cycle in traffic • We see this project as very much “learning by doing”, such that at this stage we do not know what the future may hold • We are currently undertaking consultation with our student hirers, and our consultants from TRAC (Transform Scotland) will be providing us with their evaluation of the project towards the end of this year

Student Bike Hire Scheme - Unicycles Our observations of the scheme to date are: • The majority are non-UK students – attracted to the scheme perhaps because they come from a culture where cycling is the norm, but also because they are unable to bring a bike with them • It attracts a mix of abilities from very inexperienced cyclists to confident cyclists – offering cycle training is essential. • We had no difficulty getting all of the bikes hired out – there is demand! Future challenges: • Providing for demand! With so many cyclists we need a lot of cycle parking • We will aim to provide facilities within our new buildings & Safer routes. Students and staff who don’t cycle tell us the main reason is they perceive cycling as dangerous because of road traffic

• During 2014 -15 the University has continued to replace combustion engine vehicles in the University fleet with electric and hybrid vehicles. This is serving to reduce carbon and particulate emissions • We now have 7 small electric vans and 5 petrol hybrid vehicles including the University Car which is a Toyota Prius • The electric vehicles are supported by charging points which have been implemented using 100% government funding

Business travel emissions 2013 -14

Questions? Dave. Gorman@ed. ac. uk www. ed. ac. uk/sustainability