Business portal launch will help Edinburgh become 'sustainable and successful city'

A first-of-its-kind initiative has been launched to help Edinburgh businesses play their part in contributing to a “sustainable and successful city”.

Newly formed charity Everyone’s Edinburgh said its Business for Good portal would help cut through the complexity of how firms can act sustainably and address some of the social and ecological challenges the capital faces.

The programme will also offer face-to-face events and training programmes to “help build a community of businesses that support each other”.

The initiative is the result of a collaboration between Edinburgh City Council, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, Edinburgh Napier University and some of the city’s smaller and larger businesses, as well as the Scotland Can B movement.

Simon Farrell, Business for Good programme lead, said: “There is a lot of great work going on across Scotland to tackle social and environmental challenges.

“The Business for Good programme from Everyone’s Edinburgh brings everything together to help businesses navigate things like net zero, living wage, purpose, circular economy, impact measurement and provide practical support to make a difference in their own way.”

Miles Weaver of Edinburgh Napier University said: “Edinburgh Napier University has been nurturing the next generation of businesses to use purpose as a driver to success alongside people, planet and profit.

“We are delighted to offer our new online learning platform as part of the Business for Good free resources to help businesses in Edinburgh with practical tools that can be implemented immediately.”

Everyone’s Edinburgh said its Business for Good programme would help cut through the complexity of how firms can act sustainably and address some of the social and ecological challenges the capital faces.

Gustavo Pardo, owner of Artisan Roast in Edinburgh, added: “Running a small business takes lots of time. Most of us truly care about our beautiful city and the environment but learning how to make our business more sustainable seems a huge and confusing task.

“Business for Good’s goal is to make this easy by putting in one place all the information and support we need, as well as a network of like-minded business people so we can all support each other.”

Many of the resources offered through the initiative will be free or offered for a reduced fee thanks to some funding from the city council.

A “comprehensive suite of services” will also include masterclasses, online toolkits, training and learning as well as advisory and mentoring services.