Capital City Partnership marks Net Zero Awareness Week

8th July 2025

The drive to reduce our impact on the environment around us is a key priority for us as a society if not as a planet, and it is a theme that filters through many facets of life and work.  Reducing emissions and improving our environmental practices is at the core about humanity’s long-term survival, but these priorities also offer opportunities to do business in a more efficient way, reduce costs, and create new and better jobs on a regional and national scale. 

This is why we at Capital City Partnership increasingly find ourselves connecting with the net zero agenda as we carry out our work in employability, skills and poverty prevention.  To mark Net Zero Awareness Week this July, we are sharing a snapshot of our climate related work and highlighting the important work of many of our partners on this. 

Edinburgh 

• In Edinburgh, we manage UK Shared Prosperity Fund grants, one of which is allocated to the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce to deliver their Net Zero Edinburgh and BCorp 500 programmes.  Both programmes are focussed on supporting local businesses to improve their green credentials, with the BCorp scheme offering an opportunity to go on beyond this to think about broader issues such as social impact and fair work. 

• Also in Edinburgh, Capital City Partnerships runs Vocational Training Framework courses. Each training has a Green Skills Awareness Session added to educate participants in how to reduce their carbon footprint within their homes as well as within workplace. Our training also offers free recruitment support to Green Skills employers.  

Edinburgh and South East Scotland Region  

Under the Regional Prosperity Framework, Capital City Partnership has commissioned a range of projects focused on accelerating the transition to Net Zero across Edinburgh and South East Scotland. These include: 

• Net Zero Accelerator Hub (NZAH) 

West Lothian College successfully delivered a feasibility study for a Net Zero Accelerator Hub (NZAH), co-authored with the University of Edinburgh. This comprehensive report laid the groundwork for a regional hub by conducting detailed skills mapping, early-stage planning, and strategic development, with valuable contributions from West Lothian, Borders, Edinburgh, and Fife Colleges. 

Architectural plans and designs for future training facility expansions were developed by Fraser Livingston Architects. The study also drew on a wider regional analysis led by Fife Council and funded by Innovate UK, which examined projected Net Zero activity across all six local authorities in the City Region. The feasibility study marks a significant step toward realising the region’s Net Zero ambitions through collaborative and strategic action. 

• Regional Energy Masterplan 

Led by The Verdancy Group, a three phase assessment project was commissioned to evaluate the current skills landscape to identify critical gaps and develop actionable strategies to equip the workforce with the necessary competencies. Through extensive collaboration with industry experts, educational institutions, and policymakers, the project aligned training programmes with national policies like the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES). 

 Additional Projects Across the Edinburgh and South East Scotland Region: 

• The Integrated Regional Employability and Skills (IRES) programme contributed to the development and rollout of the SCQF Level 5 ‘Understanding Domestic Retrofit’ qualification—one of the first of its kind in Scotland. Now being delivered by multiple colleges across the country, this qualification equips learners with essential skills to support the national transition to Net Zero. 

• Launching a new ‘Skills for Sustainable Retail’ qualification that brings together essential learning in net zero practices, industry-recognised accreditations, and circular economy principles, all integrated with core customer service skills. This comprehensive course will be rolled out this summer to young people across our region, equipping them with the knowledge and tools to thrive in a more sustainable retail future. 

• In Fife we will be piloting the Skills Bootcamp model in key growth sectors: retrofit, advanced manufacturing and offshore wind. Skills Bootcamps offer short courses (typically 8-16 weeks) designed with employers to help individuals gain (above entry level) sector specific skills and progress into employment or higher skill roles. The Skills Bootcamp Pilot will conclude by the end of March 2026 and our future ambition is to extend the model and enable those seeking to progress in work (in high demand sectors) to fast track to a better job. 

The journey to net zero represents not only a serious challenge for the coming years but also an opportunity to live and work in a way that delivers increased benefits for both people and planet.  We are excited to be working with partners to maximise that potential and would welcome conversations with other interested parties working in the City of Edinburgh or wider city region.