The council-owned Assembly Rooms Edinburgh was awarded a Gold accreditation – the top standard – by following a robust sustainable framework set out by Green Tourism.

The Georgian venue, which is celebrating its 230th anniversary throughout 2017, has been recognised for its exceptional efforts across a wide range of criteria, including energy and water efficiency, waste management and community involvement.

Praised by Green Tourism for its continued commitment to the sustainability agenda, the Assembly Rooms was presented with the Gold award on the 27 April.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “This Gold grading recognises our ongoing commitment to environmental quality and celebrates the efforts of everyone at the Assembly Rooms in striving for excellence in this crucial area of our business.

“We firmly believe in taking responsibility for our carbon footprint and are constantly pushing our venues in terms of sustainability to further develop our green credentials, proving that a fantastic building and great event doesn't have to cost the earth.”

Green Tourism has been in operation since 1997 and is the largest and most established scheme of its type in the world.

Andrea Nicholas, Managing Director of Green Tourism, said: “We are working closely with companies across the UK, helping them take direct action to address their environmental impact. The Green Tourism programme provides an exciting opportunity to assess and reward an organisation’s efforts, and we’re pleased to support Assembly Rooms and its achievements.

“By allowing the historic venue to showcase these practices in a credible way with the display of a GOLD Green Tourism Award, we hope this will inspire others to accept their environmental responsibilities and play a part in developing Scotland as a sustainable tourism destination.”

The Assembly Rooms Edinburgh is also a member of the Green Arts Initiative and has signed up to Zero Waste Scotland’s Resource Efficiency Pledge.

In 2016, the council-owned venue was selected to take part in a year-long sustainability project to reduce the energy consumption of Edinburgh’s public sector buildings which will see the iconic venue become a ‘living lab’.

The Enhance research project, run by the University of Edinburgh and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), has taken up a 12-month residency at Assembly Rooms, as of October 2016, to help the venue further understand and reduce its energy usage.

Further information on the Assembly Rooms green vision can be found at: www.AssemblyRoomsEdinburgh.co.uk.