About the Week

What is Cardiff University’s Sustainability Week?

Sustainability Week, 16-20 November 2009, is our chance to work together to help drive forward the sustainable development agenda. While it is an opportunity to showcase the University’s world-leading research and teaching in the field of sustainability, it is also a chance for everyone to join in and make a concerted effort to reduce our impact on the planet by becoming more socially, economically, culturally and environmentally aware when it comes to the decisions we make and the actions we take.

Sustainability Week is a week-long event with talks, discussions, film screenings, food co-operatives, pledging, and more. The aim is to provide an event that is varied, challenging, inspiring, thought-provoking and open to the whole University community.

By the end of the week we hope as many people as possible have discovered something new about sustainability, adopted some tips to become more sustainable, and perhaps encouraged those around them to do the same.

Cardiff University and the sustainable development agenda

The University recognises its responsibilities and potential in helping to create a sustainable future. This is demonstrated in our research and teaching and increasingly in the manner we do business. The University pursues the principles of sustainable development in its engagement with external stakeholders and in the management of its internal operations. It also seeks to bring about positive change through world-leading research, learning and teaching, which addresses a wide-range of sustainable issues, and which has global impact.

In fact, the University is unusually well-advanced in having sustainable development research as a key strength across a range of physical and social science disciplines, with academics and research centres going on to win awards for their innovations. There are currently 11 schools and more than 120 academics working in this area, and over the last five years, more than £40M in research grants have been awarded to the University to carry out projects into various aspects of sustainability.

The University also plays a key role in educating future generations of citizens, consumers, investors, entrepreneurs, leaders and decision-makers within Wales, the UK and globally. Sustainability principles are embedded in a wide-range of teaching subjects thereby empowering our students and graduates to contribute to a more sustainable society.

The University has introduced a number of policies recognising its responsibilities to the environment, including ways to reduce water and energy consumption and better manage the University’s waste.

More details of the University’s policies, procedures and performance can be found on the main Sustainability webpages.