Sustainability
We aim to bring about social, environmental, economic and health benefits not only to Wales but to the wider world.
We are independently audited and certified to the ISO 14001 international standard, based on an effective environmental management system, characterised by continual improvement.
In 2019, we declared a climate emergency, recognising our need to play our part in the global response. We are committed to becoming carbon net zero for scopes 1 and 2 by 2030 and are currently developing our target for scope 3.
A more sustainable university
Our commitment to sustainable development is reflected in our strategic direction, which includes environmental and social sustainability as one of our enabling strategies:

Environmental Sustainability Strategy recast 2021
‘A More Sustainable University’ - Environmental Sustainability Enabling Strategy 2018-2023 (Recast 2020)

Recast Environmental Sustainability Action Plan - October 2022
Action plan for 2018-2023.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.

Climate emergency paper summary report
Cardiff University’s vision is to build towards an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for our community and to bring about environmental benefits not only to Cardiff and Wales but to the wider world.
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Carbon Emissions Audit (Scope 1 2 and 3) Summary Report February 2022
Cardiff University Carbon Audit 2021
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Sustainable Development Goals
We are signatories of the Sustainable Development Goal Accord. The Accord represents the university and college sector's collective response to 17 sustainable development goals. We achieved an overall rank of 101st-200th out of 1,406 universities worldwide for our 2022 submission. This was our second year taking part and our overall score of 88.5% was a substantial increase from 77.9% in 2021.
Amongst institutions in the UK, we are ranked:
- 4th for peace, justice and strong institutions
- 8th for life on land
- 10th for life below water
- 11th for good health and wellbeing
Our rankings are generated from scores measured against evidence submitted for the mandatory SDG17 (partnerships for the goals), as well as 10 others. Our results in the individual SDGs were:
- Climate action – ranked 83rd globally
- Reduced inequalities – ranked 87th globally
- Responsible consumption and production – ranked 90th globally
- Gender equality – ranked 201st – 300th globally
- Decent work and economic growth - ranked 201st – 300th globally
See the full results from The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings assessing universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Read our summary report to find out more about our work towards the SDGs:

UN Sustainable Development Goals Summary Report 2021
A report on our work towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Our Environmental Sustainability team take the lead in submitting evidence to show how we meet each of the SDGs, they are:

Dr Julie Gwilliam
Dean of Postgraduate Studies College of Physical Sciences & Engineering
- gwilliamja@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 5977

Dr Katrina Henderson
Environmental Safety Adviser
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Find out more about the six categories we submitted evidence for:
Working together for sustainability
The sustainable development of the University is one of the responsibilities of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor. We work closely with our nominated trade union green representatives and student representatives in all our university committees. Student and trade union representatives are involved in development and consultation of all our sustainability-related policies.
Contact us
If you have questions or would like further information about sustainability in the University, please get in touch:
Energy enquiries
Environmental enquiries
Committed to sustainability
We are working to be sustainable across all our work, including, teaching, research and campus maintenance and performance.
Read our environmental policies to learn how we embed sustainability across our operations.