Cardiff’s commitment to sustainability is to be taken a step further with the roll-out of its Environmental Management System on the Cathays Campus.
The system has been in place at the Heath Park Campus for a number of years and is a formal approach to identifying all environmental impacts arising from University activities, allowing for controls and monitoring to be put into place to manage the most significant effects.
A pilot system, launched in May 2009 and funded by Higher Education Funding Council Wales will now explore the best ways to extend this to the Cathays campus.
The pilot will test the most effective methods of rolling out the system by looking at implementation in one Directorate and two academic Schools. Following this, a full implementation plan for remaining the Schools and Directorates will be established.
Vice-Chancellor, Dr David Grant said: “The University recognises its responsibilities and potential to create a sustainable future, demonstrated in the research and teaching that we undertake and the principles of sustainable development that we pursue.
“The implementation of the Environmental Management System furthers our sustainability aims and will help ensure the entire campus is effectively evaluating and controlling its impact on the environment.”
The aims of the system include reducing waste, the efficient use of energy and water and utilising resources in a sustainable manner, all of which focus on combating wider issues such as climate change.
Cardiff has already introduced a number of sustainable measures including a network of Eco Champions across the Schools to promote sustainability issues and a lift share scheme for staff.
Full details of the University’s commitment to sustainability, including the roll-out of the system, can be found at http://www.cf.ac.uk/sustainability
