University-wide initiatives

All staff are introduced to the University's sustainability commitments, initiatives, and opportunities to get involved through their School or departmental induction.

New students are also signposted to this information as part of their School induction process.

Read our latest induction here

The Green Impact programme supports Cardiff University’s schools and departments in growing their environmental and social impact.

Staff and students collaborate in teams to complete a bespoke online toolkit of sustainability actions, designed by the University's sustainability team to reflect our unique context and priorities. We re-launched Green Impact in January 2025, following a three-year pause.

Staff who are interested in joining the Green Impact initiative can find out more on the staff intranet.

Environmental Compliance Officers (ECOs) are staff volunteers who liaise between the Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Unit and other areas of the University. Regular meetings are held for our ECO network, providing information and updates on strategic actions that can be rolled out at a local level.

The Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) launched in 2022 and follows a similar set up to Green Impact.

Teams for LEAF are based in laboratories specifically, and the toolkit for this programme has been developed to support our labs in implementing and embedding sustainable practices. Our aim by offering this programme is to reduce laboratory carbon emissions and create an environment that supports research quality.

Staff who are interested in joining the LEAF initiative can find out more on the staff intranet.

Changing Steps Cardiff is a rewards scheme designed to encourage active and sustainable travel. Using the BetterPoints app, university staff and students can collect points for travelling in more sustainable ways. Points can be spent on offers and vouchers or can be donated to support biodiversity projects across campus.

Where points are donated to our biodiversity projects, 100% of the money raised will be allocated to projects by the Ecosystem Resilience and Biodiversity Action Plan (ERBAP) Steering Group, to help progress their plan for building ecosystem resilience and biodiversity across Cardiff University’s campuses.