AN AWARD-WINNING business has returned its prize in “protest at VisitScotland’s continuing funding of fossil fuels via their pension scheme”.

East Lothian Cottages won a regional Thistle Award for Climate Action in October.

Now, ahead of the national version of the awards this evening (Friday), the business, which is based near Morham, has elected not to attend the ceremony and return the prize.

It was in the running for the national accolade alongside Cairngorm Bothies and Lodges, Glasgow Life: Tourism and Conventions, Nithbank Country Estate and Wilderness Scotland.

A spokesperson for the county business said it was “with real regret” that they were returning the award and had asked to be withdrawn from the national finals due to VisitScotland’s links to the Lothian Pension Fund (LPF).

LPF is the Local Government Pension Scheme for Edinburgh and the Lothians.

The spokesperson said: “At the time of accepting the regional Climate Action Award, we were aware of VisitScotland’s involvement in the LPF.

“Yet we were assured by a VisitScotland director that they recognised the issue and were taking action.

“And their own website is awash with similar promises, professing that: ‘VisitScotland is committed to bold action and championing change.’

“But well over seven months since we first contacted VisitScotland to highlight this conflict between claim and deed, and despite multiple efforts to raise it via my local representative and their board, they remain members of the LPF, and unwilling to rule out continuing support for their current policy of funding fossil fuel expansion.

“We recognise the exceptional work of the wider industry to embrace sustainability and responsible tourism, and congratulate this year's Thistle Award finalists, especially those in the Climate Action category, who deserve all the praise they get.

“And we recognise that there are many within VisitScotland itself determined to have a positive environmental impact on the industry.

“Unfortunately, though, their association with the LPF wholly undermines their organisation's own credibility, and we at East Lothian Cottages refuse to be complicit in such hypocrisy.”

A spokesperson for VisitScotland said: “We recognise the scale of the climate emergency and take our responsibilities seriously, both as an employer and as the national tourism organisation.

“VisitScotland has a statutory obligation to offer a local government pension scheme to our employees.

“We have no direct means to determine investment decisions by the Lothian Pension Fund but have written to the scheme to ask for more information on how it will address the climate emergency.

“The response from LPF explains how its investment strategy seeks to align with the Paris goals.

“It has also outlined its ambition to have a credible transition plan for its holdings in place by 2025 to support the goal of transitioning the real economy to net zero by 2050.

“We’ve committed to monitoring and reporting progress on this issue.”