Help us shape our museums for a greener future 
At National Museums Scotland we are working to minimise our impact on climate change and biodiversity loss.
We’d like to hear your thoughts on how we can use our collections and expertise to address these topics through interpretation, events and exhibitions 
Complete our short survey – (it’ll take about 6 minutes):
We want to create wealth everywhere, but first we must fix the foundations of our country.
In the first few weeks of this Government, an audit found a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. It means we’ve had to take tough decisions, like means-testing the Winter Fuel Payment. Our Budget in October will be difficult.
But we have already taken action to improve the lives of working people in every corner of the country, from unlocking planning decisions to help build 1.5 million new homes to setting up Great British Energy, to create good jobs and provide clean energy to cut people’s bills in the long term.
Here are some of the things we are doing to fix the foundations of this country.
Growth is the number one priority of this government. That’s why we set up the National Wealth Fund.
It is a publicly owned investment fund that will help attract investment into our country, stabilise our economy and create wealth for future generations.
It will help unlock private investment into the UK by directly investing in new and growing industries, and help create thousands of jobs in clean energy industries.
We’re overhauling our housing system to meet the needs of working people and put communities first.
Our plan will include introducing mandatory planning targets to aim to deliver on our ambition to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.
The new targets will boost housebuilding in areas most in need, to help more people buy their own homes, and help drive growth – making everyone in the country better off.
Putting passengers first We’ll put our rail system back on track with new laws to deliver for passengers.
They will improve the railways by reforming rail franchising, establishing Great British Railways and bringing train operators into public ownership.
We’ll introduce legislation that makes sure nobody can play fast and loose with public finances.
A new Bill will strengthen the role of the Office of Budget Responsibility, meaning significant fiscal announcements must be properly scrutinised and that taxpayers’ money is respected.
We’ll improve workers’ rights with new legislation – a significant step towards delivering this Government’s plan to make work pay.
We will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, end fire and rehire, and introduce basic employment rights from day one.
And we’re changing the way the Minimum Wage is set so it keeps in line with the cost of living, in a move to put more money in working people’s pockets.
Producing clean energy and creating good jobs will be our focus for the rest of the year. Great British Energy, a publicly owned, clean-energy company, will own, manage and operate clean power projects, such as wind farms, across the country.
Great British Energy will be headquartered in Scotland and paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants. It will invest clean power projects across the United Kingdom, such as wind farms, which are the cheapest forms of electricity generation to build and operate.
This will help make our country energy independent, tackle climate change and save families money. And investing in clean domestic power will create jobs and build supply chains in every corner of the UK.
The First Minister’s former school teacher sought to give a climate lesson to her famous ex-pupil today as the SNP conference got underway in Edinburgh.
The teacher was part of a group of activists from the Edinburgh Climate Coalition urging the SNP to stop rolling back on climate change action following the decision earlier this year to scrap its critical 2030 climate targets.
The teacher wore a black gown and cap whilst standing in front of a large blackboard with repeated lines written on reminding the First Minister “I must try harder to protect the climate. I must try harder to protect the climate. I must try harder to protect the climate…”
Environmentalists have been angered by the regressive approach taken under Swinney’s leadership including removing its opposition to drilling new oil and gas fields, announcing it will increase train fares and slashing millions of pounds from environmental restoration schemes.
Activists spoke to SNP conference delegates and politicians as they went inside the conference urging them to put pressure on decision makers to get back on track.
Caro Wilkinson, who was John Swinney’s German teacher at Forrester High School in Edinburgh commented, “When I taught John Swinney, he was both intelligent and caring. His kindness was clear when he organised a class whip round when I was pregnant to buy me a teddy bear for my new baby.
“He is clever enough to know how urgent the threat of climate change is and so I hope he cares enough for the planet to take the action that’s needed.
“If he does, he’ll speak out against the huge Rosebank oil field, reject the proposed Peterhead gas fired power station and do what he can to put the Scottish Government back on course to fight climate change.”
Luke Henderson, Edinburgh Climate Coalition spokesperson added: “People around the world are already suffering from the impacts of changed climate in fires, floods and landslides but the Scottish Government is going backwards and slowing down the action that will improve lives and cut climate pollution.
“Renewable energy is already far cheaper than new fossil fuels whilst solutions like making public transport more affordable and accessible will help more people get to where they need to be.”
LITTER PICK!
The Cramond Association is organising a Cramond, Barnton and Cammo community litter picks on 7 and 8 September!
Saturday 7 September, meet at 2pm at the Haugh Park children’s playground on Brae Park Road
Sunday 8 September, meet at 10am in the public carpark for Cramond Beach.
Everyone is welcome! Equipment provided, please wear a Hi-Vis vest if you have one.
Bring a drink for afterwards, we will provide the biscuits!
Hope to see you there!!
People across Scotland are being asked to have their say on a minimum charge for single-use cups to promote responsible consumption and cut waste.
The Scottish Government is consulting on the possible introduction of a 25p charge to all single-use drinks cups when a drink is bought, regardless of material. Exemptions would apply for specific locations and uses, such as in schools. Free drinks in hospital or care settings would not be included in the scope of the charge.
There are already similar charging schemes for cups established in Europe – with the Netherlands introducing a guideline charge of 25 cents on plastic, single-use cups in 2023. Legislation allowing the introduction of environmental levies on single- disposable cups in the Republic of Ireland was also passed in 2022 – although it has yet to come into force.
Under consultation proposals, retailers would be able to retain reasonable implementation costs from the charge – mirroring the approach taken for single-use carrier bags. It also seeks views whether the net proceeds from a charge should be kept by businesses and used for good causes or collected by local or national government.
An estimated 388 million single-use cups were used in Scotland in 2021-22 creating 5,400 tonnes of waste.
The use of single-use plastic carrier bags fell by 80% in the first year in Scotland, following the introduction of a 5p charge in 2014. The charge is widely believed to be a success with the Marine Conservation society annual litter survey reporting an 80% drop in plastic bags found on UK beaches since its implementation.
Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin said: “The success of the single-use carrier bag charge shows how an environmental charge can be an effective tool to change people’s behaviour and encourage responsible consumption.
“While many businesses already have offers in place to encourage the use of reusable drinks cups, hundreds of millions of single-use cups are still being discarded, creating 5,400 tonnes of waste every year. Many of these cups end up littering our roadsides, town centres, beaches and parks.
“Introducing a national charge could provide consistency for consumers, provide a level playing field for retail and businesses and help to drive forward sustainable behaviours. Our proposed approach is similar to the charge for single-use carrier bags and will be familiar to both suppliers and the public. We hope this means that it will minimise any administrative burden on businesses and make it easy for individuals and organisations to adopt.
“I urge everyone to have their say so we ,can choose the most sustainable option for both people and businesses while helping to tackle litter, reduce waste and cut emissions.”
Calum Duncan, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Marine Conservation Society, said: “Our volunteers have consistently recorded single-use disposable cups on over half of UK beaches surveyed. We need to see charges on these kinds of items to reduce litter in our seas and prevent it from damaging our precious marine life.
“We know that policies like this work, with our data recently showing an 80% reduction in the average number of plastic carrier bags washing up on beaches since charges on them were introduced.
“We look forward to a similar decline in disposable cups once a charge is introduced, and need further measures from governments to move towards a society where refillable and reusable options are the norm.
The consultation runs until 14 November.
Two thirds (66%) of Scottish shoppers prefer to buy products that have a more positive environmental impact, but are unsure how to identify them
According to a recent Amazon-commissioned study of 2,000 British shoppers, two in three (66%) Scottish shoppers prefer to buy products that have a more positive environmental and social impact, but are confused by sustainability statements on product labels.
In fact, Scottish shoppers surveyed find building flat-pack furniture (53%), completing a giant crossword puzzle (34%), and learning to use a new software package for their computer (32%), easier than figuring out which everyday products have a lower environmental impact when shopping online.
As a result, only 6% of Scottish shoppers say they always understand a product’s environmental impact when they shop. More than half (62%) want retailers to help them easily identify products which have a more positive environmental and social impact. This ranges from everyday items like socks and sugar, to personal care products like soap and sunscreen.
Amazon makes it easier for customers to discover and shop for products with improvements in at least one aspect of sustainability.
Its Climate Pledge Friendly badge helps shoppers to discover and filter products based on clear sustainability features – from products containing recycled materials and designed with less packaging, to items made from organic content and safer chemicals. These features are based on vetted and reputable third-party certifications, such as Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade International and Forest Stewardship Council.
Certifications matter to Scottish shoppers, with 80% of respondents saying they are more likely to trust a product’s sustainability claims if it is supported by an official certification from a reputable organisation. 38% also claim to have abandoned a purchase when they did not trust or understand its sustainability claims.
One in three (33%) claim they are more likely to try a new brand or product if their social, ethical and environmental credentials are clear on the product itself, or at the point of sale online, giving them reassurance these brands align with their principles.
“Products with certified sustainability features are a top choice for UK shoppers, and it’s important that customers can easily understand exactly what those features are. At Amazon, we’re taking the guesswork out of the shopping experience, helping customers to shop for items that match their values,” said John Boumphrey, Amazon UK Country Manager.
Among the most sought-after sustainability features that Scottish shoppers look for are recyclable packaging (43%), kindness to animals (38%), reduced packaging (37%), made with responsible farming and forestry methods (33%) and made with consideration to protecting the rights/health of workers (32%), while 28% seek items made with recycled materials.
The top five product categories that respondents expect to find more sustainable options for include food and beverage items (50%), cleaning products (49%), apparel (37%), cosmetics and beauty (36%), and electronics/appliances (24%).
Nearly 37.6 million Amazon customers have switched to Climate Pledge Friendly badged products in 2023, leading to over 1.16 billion items sold, a 42% increase from 2022 – sending a strong signal to Amazon’s selling partners that customers want to shop for products with sustainability features.
As of today, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly product selection has grown to more than 1.4 million items globally – a 157% increase from 2022.
“Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly certifications help us to communicate our brand commitment to more-sustainable processes and products,” said Tom Lloyd, Co-Founder and Commercial Director at Bloomsbury Mill, an award-winning children’s and baby brand in the UK, with several popular Climate Pledge Friendly products on the Amazon UK store.
“The qualification process is reassuringly thorough which means when customers see the Climate Pledge Friendly badge, they can be confident they are purchasing a product that goes some way to help preserve the natural world we live in,”
Amazon’s UK Climate Pledge Friendly programme features more than 50 independent sustainability certifications.
Products which have one or more of these certifications can be found by clicking on Climate Pledge Friendly on Amazon.co.uk.
Each Climate Pledge Friendly-badged product comes with clear and detailed descriptions of their sustainability features and underlying certifications, helping consumers make more informed choices when shopping online.
Scottish businesses have been awarded grants to help grow their innovative energy-saving projects in a new round of Scottish Government funding totalling £7.2 million.
The Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (SIETF) supports projects that aim to reduce carbon emissions that are created during energy-intensive manufacturing processes.
This set of grants has been awarded to nine projects across a range of businesses – including food and drink manufacture and timber pallet processing – leveraging private funding to reach a total of £19 million of investment.
First Minister John Swinney visited Chivas Brothers Strathclyde Distillery in Glasgow – which produces grain whisky for blends including Chivas Regal and Ballantine’s – to see new Mechanical Vapour Recompression (MVR) technology, supported by a £3.1 million grant from the latest round of SIETF.
The company says this will reduce carbon emissions for the distilling process by more than half and reduce energy usage by over 46,000 Megawatt hours per year – enough energy to power 17,000 homes for a year.
The First Minister said: “Growing the economy and tackling the climate emergency are two of my priorities in Government. Projects like the one at the Strathclyde Distillery will be essential in helping us meet our climate change ambitions and promote sustainable economic growth across Scotland – by supporting our existing energy intensive sectors and attracting the manufacturing industries of the future.
“With an average ratio of £1 of public to £1.75 of private funds, the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund has been incredibly successful in leveraging investment across industrial sites to accelerate adoption of low-carbon, energy efficient technologies. The fund also delivers business benefits through energy-related manufacturing savings.
“The SIETF demonstrates how government and industry are taking steps together to deliver against climate change plan targets by co-investing to decarbonise the industrial sites that local jobs and communities depend upon.
“We will continue to work closely with industrial sectors to support the progression of projects to decarbonise Scottish manufacturing.”
Production Director at Chivas Brothers Brian MacAulay, said: “This grant from the Scottish Government via SIETF validates our approach to decarbonisation and our commitment to shaping the future of sustainable Scotch.
“It is only by embracing innovative solutions and working together with specialist partners like GEA Wiegand that we can reduce our environmental impact, while also ensuring the longevity and resilience of the Scotch whisky industry for generations to come.”
Mark Kent, Chief Executive of the Scotch Whisky Association said: “How the Scotch Whisky industry will achieve emissions reduction will be as diverse as our distilleries and locations.
“Each site will have different challenges, but through support from the Scottish Government with grants like SIETF, distilleries can accelerate decarbonisation in their own operations towards our shared industry goal of 2040.
“As an industry with a strong track record delivering environmental improvement, we are determined to achieve net zero emissions in our own operations and supply chains as fast as possible. Innovation, collaboration and an enabling policy framework will enable us to continue to celebrate and produce Scotch Whisky for the long term.”
New projects support by the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund:
| Name and location | Technology | Sector |
| Culloden foods (Highland) | New energy efficient ovens | Food and drink (distilling) |
| Eyemouth freezers (Scottish Borders) | Energy efficiency improvements relating to coldstores | Food and drink (fruit processing) |
| Kettle Produce (Fife) | Upgrading and replacing equipment with more energy efficient options. | Food and drink (fruit processing) |
| GlenAllachie (Aberdeenshire) | Retro-fitting mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) | Food and drink (distilling) |
| Chivas Brothers (Glasgow) | Integrated mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) | Food and drink (distilling) |
| Scott Timber (Fife) | Energy Efficiency through automation of process | Timber pallets processing |
| Ineos Forties Pipeline System (FPS) (Falkirk) | Proposal to allow nitrogen flare headers purging.(FEED study) | Transportation & processing of oil and gas |
| Pelagia (Aberdeenshire) | Electrification of gas turbine driven train compressor(feasibility study) | Prepared feeds for farm animals |
| Ineos Forties Pipeline System (FPS) (Falkirk) | Recover and reprocess boil-off gas from storage tanks (feasibility study) | Transportation & processing of oil and gas |
VPZ, the UK’s largest vaping retailer, will be rewarding eco-friendly revellers during 2024’s Party At The Palace.
Festivalgoers are set to benefit from the vaping retailer’s one year anniversary of its partnership with WasteCare which saw VPZ launch a recycling service for vaping devices and e-cigarettes across all its UK stores.
Disposable vapes contain lithium batteries and plastic and when littered they can cause harm to the local environment.
This vape recycling service will be debuting in a mobile form at Linlithgow Palace and will be open to all vapers throughout the festival, as anyone can visit the stand and dispose safely of their vaping devices or e-cigarettes.
VPZ will have two recycling bins throughout the weekend at Party At The Palace, both located at the seating area at its stand with one for batteries and one for disposables.
For their eco-friendly efforts, for every disposable vape recycled at the Party At The Palace, VPZ are offering festivalgoers £1 off the purchase of any reusable AEQ vape at the event.
VPZ Director Doug Mutter said: “At VPZ, we are pioneering in the battle against waste and are proud to have launched our vape recycling service across all stores and now debuting it on the go.
“Our appearance at Party At The Palace will be a great chance to tackle this burgeoning environmental issue head on and aid people to safely dispose of disposable vapes throughout the event.
“We strongly believe this innovative service and intervention is vital in responding to an emerging environmental problem whilst educating vapers on the long-term financial benefits of using reusable products.”
Alongside being in attendance to educate on the environmental impact of vaping, VPZ will also be offering a dedicated one-to-one service to help smokers quit. VPZ specialists are trained and have expert knowledge, engaging with smokers to educate them on the health and financial benefits of switching to vaping.
To reflect VPZ’s full commitment to helping UK smokers on their stop-smoking journey, the vape specialist is also introducing a 30-day switch guarantee. This guarantee offers a full refund to anyone who doesn’t make a complete switch to vaping in 30 days, supporting VPZ’s confidence in the role of vaping for a Smoke-Free 2030 national goal.
By introducing this policy, VPZ is not only investing in the well-being of people trying to stop smoking but also educating them on the financial benefits of vaping.
VPZ Director Doug Mutter added: “VPZ is the UK’s leading vaping specialist, and we are spearheading the fight against the nation’s number one killer – smoking.
“At VPZ, we are much more than a vaping retailer, as our new 30-day guarantee provides a solution to Smoke-Free targets and stands by our promise to support all smokers on their own quit-smoking journey.
“Our approach gives adult smokers the help and advice they need at a time when local stop-smoking services across the country are under threat whilst supporting the country’s ambitions to become a smoke-free nation by 2030.
“We are fully supportive of the UK government’s ban on disposable vaping products and it is positive progress that we have a proposed enforcement date for April 1 next year but it’s critical that they take on board advice and guidance to regain much-needed momentum and help the country meet its 2030 ambitions.
“VPZ has been calling on the UK Government to introduce licencing and controls for selling vaping products for the past two years and it’s hugely important a ban operates alongside a licencing scheme where there are proper punishments and policing in place to enforce the ban and tackle the growth of the existing black market.”
Researchers at King’s College London found vaping to be a more effective treatment than nicotine replacement therapy for stopping smoking.
A further report from the Royal College of Physicians Tobacco Advisory Group backs vaping as an effective treatment for tobacco dependency and recommends that it should be included and encouraged in all treatment pathways. The report also found that the long-term impact of vaping is 95 per cent less harmful than smoking cigarettes.
To date, Edinburgh-based VPZ has already helped over 700k smokers in the UK quit since it was established in 2012.
Information on the UK Government’s Smoke-Free by 2030 plans can be found here:
https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2017/06/16/our-ambition-for-a-smokefree-nation-is-in-sight/
Following a special meeting of Council Leaders yesterday to discuss Local Government Pay, COSLA has made a ‘significantly improved’ formal offer to the trade unions.
Scotland’s council leaders welcomed that Scottish Government had provided funding to take a pay offer beyond the 3.2% previously offered by COSLA, recognising the financial position facing councils while also providing firm assurances around any recurring additional funding.
This additional funding means that the revised offer is better than the offer made to Local Government workers in the rest of the UK.
If the offer is accepted everyone will receive at least 3.6% and for the first pay point on our pay scales, there will be an increase of £1292 (or 5.63%), The overall offer value is 4.27%.
In making this improved offer, COSLA is requesting that strike action is suspended while it is considered by the unions, who have been made aware of Leaders’ concerns that the additional funding may be at risk if strikes go ahead.
COSLA’s Resources Spokespeople Cllr Katie Hagmann said: “Having worked hard over the last week with Scottish Government to increase and guarantee additional funding, Leaders are now in a position to make this improved offer to our trade unions.
“This offer reflects what trade unions have asked for and we hope that they will now be prepared to call off the strikes while they put that offer to their members.”
Climate justice campaigners have condemned the Lothian Pension Fund for increasing its investments in fossil fuels despite the worsening climate emergency.
The latest investment holdings list from the Lothian Pension Fund reveals that the fund’s investments in oil and gas companies have risen in value to £208m in 2024 from £166m in 2022. This increase is driven by the purchase of additional shares rather than changes in the market value of existing holdings and has arisen despite Edinburgh and East Lothian councils passing motions in 2022 calling on the fund to divest from fossil fuels in order to tackle the climate crisis.
The Lothian Pension Fund is the second biggest fossil fuel investor of all the council pension funds in Scotland. It invests in some of the world’s biggest climate polluters, including TotalEnergies, Exxon Mobil, Eni, Equinor, Shell and BP.
TotalEnergies, now Lothian Pension Fund’s largest fossil fuel investment following a recent significant purchase of additional shares, is currently developing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. If completed, the pipeline will stretch 1,444km across Uganda and Tanzania, to pump oil out of new oil fields in Uganda to be exported on the international market. It would produce 379m tonnes of carbon emissions if it goes ahead.
Joan Forehand from campaign group Divest Lothian said: “It is appalling that the Lothian Pension Fund is choosing to invest even more of its members’ pensions in companies that, despite responsible investors’ efforts over many years to get them to change course, are doubling down on oil and gas expansion plans.
“The science is clear: we need to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels to avoid catastrophic climate breakdown, and the economic collapse that would bring. Increasing investment in the fossil fuel industry highlights the failure of the Lothian Pension Fund to adequately assess climate change risk in its financial modelling.”
Sally Clark, divestment campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “It’s unbelievable that despite the worsening climate crisis and clear support for ending fossil fuel investments from councillors in Edinburgh and East Lothian, Lothian Pension Fund has actually increased investments in fossil fuels.
“These fossil fuel companies are driving climate breakdown and the pension fund’s managers have a responsibility to act in the best interests of their members and future generations.
“The money moved away from fossil fuels could instead be invested in ways that support local communities and protect the planet for everyone, like renewable energy. As skyrocketing energy bills are plunging millions of people into fuel poverty across the UK, this transition is more important than ever.”
Jane Herbstritt, climate campaigner at Global Justice Now added: “Despite the certainty of the climate emergency, TotalEnergies is pressing ahead with its climate-wrecking development of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline – displacing local communities and destroying the environment in order to profit from pumping out more new oil than can be safely burned.
“It is wholly irresponsible for the Lothian Pension Fund to give its backing to this by increasing its investment in TotalEnergies, particularly when councillors in Edinburgh and East Lothian have voted for the pension fund to divest from oil and gas.”
Divest Lothian is calling on the pension fund’s managers to stop investing in fossil fuels and to instead invest in renewable energy and social housing in order to prioritise the long-term health and well-being of its members and of communities around the world.
