Edinburgh Napier University looks after the planet
Places available on cooking course at Gate 55
Smith Commission announcement in Edinburgh
TED Talks
Best bits of 2014
Edinburgh Napier University has been rated best in Scotland in a nationwide survey of environmental and ethical standards.
The university was also ninth in the whole of the UK in the People & Planet University League 2015.
Plymouth University came out top in the country’s only comprehensive and independent ranking of universities by ethical and environmental criteria, which is now in its eighth year.
The study identifies the universities which set policy, implement strategy and give staff and students the means to grapple with the sustainability issues which affect their communities and the wider world.
Edinburgh Napier was one of the 30 universities to achieve a ‘First Class’ ranking.
Hannah Smith, who compiled the data, said: “The progressive universities at the top of our league are proving their ability to change their impact on communities and the wider world. We’ve seen a rise in the number of universities stepping up to meet student expectations for an education that supports them to respond with speed to the biggest challenges of our time.”
Over half of all university senior management teams now receive an annual report evaluating the performance of their institution’s environmental policy and the latest figures show an overall reduction in university carbon emissions of 3.6% on last year’s figures.
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The Prime Minister was in Edinburgh on Thursday and made a speech announcing the draft proposals. No 10 were in charge of all the arrangements. Here is what he said to the invited audience:
Here is what we all missed:
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EDINBURGH & THE LOTHIANS TOURISM DIRECTOR REVEALS HER ‘BRILLIANT MOMENTS’ OF 2014
As the New Year gets underway, Manuela Calchini, Regional Director of national tourism organisation VisitScotland, has been taking time to reflect on the highlights of 2014 – a year of unprecedented importance for Scottish tourism.
2014 was the year Scotland welcomed the world to major international events including the Commonwealth Games, The Ryder Cup and MTV EMAs – all of which were hugely successful and attracted global audiences. The Homecoming Scotland 2014 programme was also an outstanding hit, achieving a record-breaking 2 million attendances to more than 1,000 diverse events – many of which were sell-outs – across the country.
Throughout the year, VisitScotland ran extensive marketing campaigns to ensure the world’s spotlight shone on Scotland, with ‘Meet The Scots’ and ‘Brilliant Moments’ promotions targeting the international and home markets respectively.
Before revealing her personal ‘brilliant moments’ for tourism in Edinburgh & the Lothians and favourite memories of the year, Manuela Calchini said:
“2014 was a great year for tourism in Edinburgh & The Lothians, with Scotland playing host to major events on an international stage and VisitScotland’s Brilliant Moments campaign helping to attract more visitors from the UK to our capital city and this fantastic part of Scotland.
“There’s also much for us to look forward to this year when we will work in partnership with stakeholders and local businesses to capitalise on the opportunities of Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink by building on the momentum gained in 2014 and harnessing the growing global interest in Scotland and in visiting our country.”
Manuela summarised her highlights of 2014:
The Edinburgh International Festival – Watching the James Trilogy at the ice skating rink in St Andrews Square for Edinburgh’s Christmas. Also the Field of Light installation in St Andrews Square was fantastic.
The Forth Bridges Festival – as part of the Forth Bridges celebrations we climbed the Forth Rail Bridge, which was amazing.
The Commonwealth Baton came to Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian and was carried, among others, by Brian Cox which was a very memorable moment.
The Aberdeen Assets Ladies Scottish Open at Archerfield – a beautiful day, an outstanding venue and a fantastic sport.
National Mining Museum’s 30th birthday celebration – what a fantastic place and this was a great celebration of one of Scotland’s five star visitor attractions.
Beyond these ‘brilliant moments of 2014’ within her ‘patch’ of Edinburgh and the Lothians, Manuela’s personal highlights also included welcoming The Ryder Cup to St Medan Golf Club in Dumfries & Galloway during its tour of Scotland before the world-famous tournament got underway, attending a practice day at Gleneagles, and enjoying discussions between authors Kathy Reichs and Ian Rankin at the Bloody Scotland literary festival in Stirling as her top tourism moments of the year.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
