Environmental Research

Cardiff Met engages in research that is at the interface of new knowledge creation and its application. With an excellent track record in applied research, supported by a strong base of expertise and advanced scholarship, the university's research has direct application in business, industry, the professions, and the community. Some examples are featured below.

Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences

Cardiff School of Sport & Health Sciences has a portfolio of research activity broadly linked to the sustainability of human health.

Sustainable Innovation in Seaweed

In 2024, as part of ongoing development with the ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre - a leading hub supporting sustainable food innovation - His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales visited the facility to explore projects in food science, nutrition, and food legislation. The visit coincided with an event jointly hosted by The Earthshot Prize and the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, focusing on the sustainable development of regenerative seaweed farming.

The showcase highlighted pioneering enterprises from Wales, the UK, and the Commonwealth, including Notpla and Sea Forest, whose work in developing seaweed-based alternatives exemplifies sustainable innovation and aligns with Cardiff Met's ongoing commitment to advancing research, education, and partnerships that contribute to environmental resilience and the global sustainability agenda.

The Sociology and Philosophy of Sport Research Group

The Sociology and Philosophy of Sport Research Group engage in work that embraces questions concerned with ethics, equality, and moral agency. A particular ongoing project is concerned with the lives, interests, and activities of eco-athletes, and eco-athletes as agents of change in sport. Specifically, it is an empirical project around the topic of environmental sustainability in sport and the ramifications of climate change and environmental degradation. Making sport more environmentally sustainable presents a challenge for sports organisations, governments, and institutions alike.

Cardiff School of Art and Design

Ecological design work is a well-established part of the Schools research portfolio. Cardiff School of Art and Design is home to the Ecological Build Environment Research and Enterprise Group, which brings together research with a number of external collaborative partners. Another example is the construction and operation of buildings, environment and energy performance, and building occupancy evaluation and impact on health. In the past few years, The Sustainable and Resilient Built Environment (SuRBe) Research Group have published an array of research papers looking at Sustainability and Social Housing in Wales.

Some other recent projects around environment and wellbeing is the LAUGH research project, which supports people with late stage dementia through designing playful products that promote "in the moment" living.

Cardiff School of Management

Recent projects from the Cardiff School of Management (CSM) have emerged through the Circular Economy Innovation Communities (CEIC) initiative and the Regional Innovation and Regeneration Centre, in partnership with Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (CTMUHB). Support by Welsh Government SMART FIS Level 1 Funding, the resulting paper identifies priority healthcare waste streams such as PPE, surgical instruments, medicines, and catering equipment.

One project with ELITE Recycling repurposed CTMUHB's cardboard waste into bedding materials for the dog and equine unit of South Wales Police. Research shows that better waste segregation and adoption of reusable supplies can significantly reduce plastic waste, cut costs, lower carbon emissions, and support CTMHUB's ambition to reach net zero by 2030.

Elsewhere in the CSM, ongoing studies involve the role and significance of voluntary environmental programmes in behaviour change within green marketing and specifically the drivers and barriers in the effective implementation of environmental management programmes.

Cardiff School of Education and Social Policy

The Outdoor Learning Centre

One of the distinctive features of the Cardiff School of Education and Social Policy is the Outdoor Learning Centre, based in two hectares of mature woodland on the Cyncoed campus. It is a wooden classroom that provides a learning environment used for forest school activities and short courses (including storytelling). It is also home to the outdoor learning research group. The School continues to collaborate with an extensive list of external stakeholders.

PDR

PDR is a world-leading design consultancy and applied research institute focusing on the effective use of design as a tool for innovation in both the private and public sectors. Working with recognised brands and influential organisations, the PDR consultancy team develop solutions in products, services, and solutions.

PDR collaborates with other academic partners, industry, the public sector and governments to examine and improve product and service design policy, management and practice. It also leads and collaborates on projects funded by AHRC and other UKRI programmes, various European Commission programmes, charities, industry and government.

Within PDR, the Eco-design Centre works with businesses, industry groups, academia, educators and policy makers on a national and international scale through collaborative eco-design projects. PDR is a delivery partner for Media Cymru's "Greening the Screen" initiative, which funds innovative projects to reduce the environmental impact of film and high-end TV production in the Cardiff Capital Region.