Walking the talk: Cardiff Water Research Institute's pledge for sustainability

The Water Research Institute has decided to ‘walk the talk’ and take a sustainability pledge to reduce its environmental impact and inspire others.

Sustainability is at the core of our research and we are committed to ensuring that it is also embedded in our every day office life.

Our space is a place where researchers and stakeholders can freely host internal and external meetings. We are aware that our activities impact the environment to various degrees, and we want to ensure that we do everything to improve our environmental performance. We hope that this initiative will inspire others to do the same.

This year, we pledge to:

• Make our events and meetings plastic-free

Our research group Plastic from source to sink investigates plastic pollution in freshwater environments from a range of disciplinary angles. This includes researching sustainable behaviours around plastic use, designing more environmentally-friendly plastics, and investigating the potential impact of plastics on freshwater ecosystems.

In line with our research activities and ever since our involvement with the Refill Cardiff campaign, we have been very careful to reduce the amount of single-use plastic that we use. Members of our team all have a reusable water bottle and reusable cups are always available in the office.

This year, we pledge to reduce our single-use plastic consumption even further by using reusable cutlery and by buying in bulk. Individually packed items are a big no-go!

• Provide vegetarian and vegan lunches only

Meat consumption is both water and energy intensive. We are aware of the water footprint of agricultural products and are committed to provide meat-free meals each time we order catering. We hope that the University catering will offer more vegetarian and vegan options in the future.

• Reduce our water consumption

Our direct indoor water consumption is already limited but we will ensure that we benefit from the full water saving potential of our dishwasher by doing full loads only and by always running it on eco-mode.

• Reduce our energy consumption

We are committed to turning off all appliances and lights at night and to use our appliances on energy-saving mode to minimise our energy use.

• Reduce travelling by encouraging video conferences and online meetings

We want to take advantage of new technologies to reduce our travelling. We believe that most meetings can be done online and therefore commit to reducing business travel whenever possible.

• Walk to work or use public transport

We will encourage the totality of the team to walk, cycle or use public transport and we will ensure that they have the adequate facilities to store travelling equipment.

• Reduce our waste

We already ensure that we use recycled paper, but we are committed to reducing the amount we use and only print necessary material. Respecting the University guidelines, we also limit food waste by ensuring that spare food is given away within the school or stored for our team to eat.

• Reduce, reuse, recycle!

We recycle as much as possible, from bottle tops to crisps packets. We are also committed to reusing products as much as possible. Our space was designed by reusing and upcycling old furniture.

• Use local, certified and Fairtrade suppliers

We offer tea and coffee to our visitors on a regular basis, but we are aware of the important social and environmental impact of their production. We want to make sure that we source them from local suppliers, or from certified and Fairtrade suppliers when local options are not available. We are currently looking into getting local milk deliveries with the help of the School of Biosciences.

We are taking part in the NUS Green Impact within the School of Biosciences and are always looking for ways to reduce our impact.

We know that environmental initiatives can sometimes be restricted by University guidelines but we are glad to see that many staff members care about sustainability. We hope that our pledge will encourage others to reduce their impact within their work place.