Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe organisers have defended sponsor Baillie Gifford over greenwashing accusations.
A Edinburgh Festival spokesperson said Baillie Gifford “shares our vision of a sustainable future, one that includes carbon neutrality”.
The statement follows climate activist Greta Thunberg cancelling her scheduled appearance at the Edinburgh Book Festival accusing it of greenwashing over the Baillie Gifford link.
As the festival has set targets to be net zero as an organisation by 2030, and for its full programme to be net zero by 2045, questions were raised over its sponsorships.
“As a climate activist I cannot attend an event which receives sponsorship from Baillie Gifford, who invest heavily in the fossil fuel industry,” Thunberg said in a statement at the time.
At the Edinburgh Book Festival itself, climate activist and author Mikaela Loach organised a mass walkout, accusing Baillie Gifford of “bankrolling” the climate crisis.
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The Fringe Society emphasised that Baillie Gifford “isn’t technically a sponsor” and described it as more of a corporate donor — it has donated £50,000 to the organisation this year.
The society said: “We are all on the journey to carbon neutrality in line with the civic and national commitments, but we understand that these necessary shifts don’t happen overnight.
“We are committed to working with partners who have a clear pathway on climate action, and are driving change, but we also appreciate that it takes time to arrive at the destination. A process of timebound evolution rather than revolution,” it added.
Baillie Gifford also defending itself stating that 2% of its investment of clients’ money is in companies linked to fossil fuels, compared with a market average of 11%.
The company said: “We are investing on behalf of our clients to grow their savings and retirement funds. When we invest in companies on their behalf, we do so over long time periods — typically ten years or more — so this has naturally led us away from traditional fossil fuel firms.
“Currently, 5% of our clients’ money is invested in companies whose sole purpose is to develop clean energy solutions,” it added.
