Reflecting on Wales Climate Week 2025

Across Wales, momentum is building for a cleaner, greener, and fairer future - and this year’s Wales Climate Week brought that vision to life. 

This year’s theme centred on creating a practical plan for reducing carbon emissions over the next five years and beyond, with a particular focus on unlocking the benefits of change.

Over three days of panels, podcasts and discussions, organisations, policymakers and communities came together to explore how Wales can lead the way in housing, transport, agriculture and land use; areas where devolved powers can drive meaningful progress towards net zero. 

Across the week, speakers explored how Wales’ transition to net zero can be accelerated through innovation and community engagement. Sessions on housing examined how local authorities can transform homes through energy-efficient retrofitting and low-carbon design, while discussions on transport and agriculture considered how technology, data and skills can support a fairer and more sustainable economy.

A key moment came when Salix Finance programme manager for Wales, Gbenga Adenaike, joined a panel alongside Ben Burggraaf, CEO of Net Zero Industry Wales; Andy Ross, Founder of the Centre for Energy Equality; and Chris Foxall, CEO of Hyppo Hydrogen Solutions. The discussion focused on how to make net zero work across all sectors of the Welsh economy by fostering innovation, developing skills and building capacity.

Gbenga shared insight from Salix’s work with public sector partners, highlighting how investment in skills and local supply chains can maximise community benefit. 

Gbenga said: “The courses available are key - engaging students and the next generation helps spark interest in the net zero agenda and build the skills we need for the future. We’re also seeing clients use local suppliers and Welsh materials, like wool, to support jobs and sustainability.”

Speakers agreed that innovation must go hand in hand with inclusivity and long-term investment. As panel chair Ben Burggraaf noted: “Net zero skills and green skills aren’t as different as people think. We need to stop talking about them in isolation and make sure more people benefit from the social value they bring to Wales.”

To celebrate the week, we released a special Wales Climate Week edition of our podcast series, The Decarbonisation Dialogue, shining a spotlight on voices from across Wales who are leading the journey to net zero.

In one episode, ecological artist Bronwen Gwillim shared how she transforms coastal waste into wearable art, rethinking materials and challenging how we value our natural environment. Teifion Maddocks, sustainability manager at Swansea University, discussed how higher education institutions can embed sustainability into their operations through leadership, data and collaboration.

The series concluded with a conversation with Dr Jack Price from the Wales Centre for Public Policy, who explored how fairness and inclusion are essential to effective climate action. 

Jack encouraged others to partake in this plan and mission: “Get involved. We urgently need passionate, committed, clever people - not just to design and develop solutions, but to persuade, convincing people and bring others along. 

“The benefits of this transition are not just environmental; they’re social and economic too. That’s how we’ll keep the momentum going.”

At Salix, we are proud to support the public sector in turning these ideas into action. Through our partnership with Welsh Government, we provide funding that helps public sector bodies across Wales reduce emissions, cut energy costs and invest in local resilience.

Projects such as the retrofitting of council buildings in Carmarthenshire, the installation of energy-efficient technologies across Swansea University’s campuses, and upgrades to healthcare facilities in Powys demonstrate how decarbonisation delivers benefits far beyond carbon savings. These initiatives create skilled jobs, strengthen communities and help public organisations reinvest energy savings into essential services.

Every project represents a step towards a more sustainable, inclusive and forward-looking Wales - one where innovation and environmental responsibility go hand in hand.

From housing to hydrogen, and from classrooms to communities, Wales Climate Week 2025 showcased the power of collaboration and innovation in building a cleaner, greener future. 

As Wales continues its journey towards net zero, Salix remains committed to working in partnership with public sector organisations to deliver practical, lasting change - helping to create a Wales that is not only decarbonised but fairer, stronger and more resilient for generations to come.

Listen to all episodes of The Decarbonisation Dialogue Wales Climate Week series - featuring Bronwen Gwillim,Teifion Maddocks and Dr Jack Price - on Apple, Spotify, Amazon or via the Salix website.