Performance

We are working towards auditing and increasing our efficiencies of water and energy usage, recycling, green procurement, campus maintenance, and biodiversity.

Energy consumption

Energy consumption fell by 2.5% in 2019-20, compared to 2018-19, to 113,636,891kWh.

Carbon emissions, calculated against average grid and network emissions, continued to fall during academic year 2019-20 (now 27% below 2005/06) following grid decarbonisation.

Contact

For more information, contact us:

Sustainable procurement

Companies wishing to provide goods and services to the University have to demonstrate a commitment to environmental, social and economic issues.

This measure, applied to all procurement decisions over £25,000, is designed to foreground ethical considerations when commissioning work or services from external organisations.

Community benefit clauses designed to create skills and training opportunities provide employment for those not in education, employment or training. Supply chains for small, medium and social enterprises are also included.

The Higher Education Purchasing Consortium Wales (HEPCW) are an affiliate of the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC) who are members of Electronics watch. The University purchases through frameworks managed by SUPC including laptops, desktop PCs, servers and computer storage.

Accolades

Award/nomination	Date	Details
European IT and Software Excellence Awards, 2017	March 2017	Awarded to the Redwood ARCCA Supercomputer Datacentre, through our solution provider Schneider Electric, working in partnership with Schneider Electric (APC), Comtec Power, CoolTherm  and Cardiff University staff (ARCCA, Estates and University IT) - for work in optimising the operational and energy efficiency of the datacentre.
Guardian University Awards - Sustainability	March 2017	Our bee-friendly project won the sustainability project category. We are engaging with local schools and science projects across south Wales to provide a better environment for bees while seeking to develop new honey-based antibiotics.
Innovation in Sustainability award	June 2015	Experts from the Welsh School of Architecture have designed a smart house that produces more energy than it uses. This project has been honoured at the 2015 Cardiff Innovation and Impact Awards
Soil Association Food for Life Catering Mark	October 2012	We became the first University within Wales to be recognised by the Soil Association for its commitment to providing food that is freshly prepared, free from controversial additives and better for animal welfare.
BREEAM Awards Wales 2012	July 2012	The new Hadyn Ellis Building being constructed at Maindy Park, has won a major award for its sustainability.
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System		We became the first University within Wales to have received both ISO 14001 - an internationally accepted standard that signifies an organisation’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact - and BS OHSAS 18001 which recognises the promotion of a safe and healthy working environment.
Green gown Award Nomination	August 2011	An innovative social marketing initiative aimed at reducing the incidence of deliberate grassfires was shortlisted in the Social Responsibility category.
Queen's Award for Voluntary Service	July 2010	The Cardiff Conservation Volunteers (CCV), a group co-founded by John Newton, previously an Assistant Director in the University's Finance Division, was awarded outstanding work in the local community.
Green Gown Award	June 2010	A Cardiff University student-run enterprise, which promotes the consumption of locally-sourced, affordable fruit and vegetables was given the award for Student Initiatives and Campaigns.
Carbon Trust Standard	May 2010	We became the first University within Wales to achieve the Carbon Trust Standard, a national mark of excellence. This was in recognition of its work and results and ongoing commitment to reduce its carbon emissions.