Swansea has been ranked as the most sustainable city in Wales and sixth in the UK in a new study comparing the environmental performance of 94 urban areas.
Research published by CoworkingCafe places Swansea ahead of Cardiff, which ranked 10th, as well as Bristol in ninth and London in 28th.
The study assessed cities using nine sustainability indicators, including carbon emissions per person, air quality, household recycling, rooftop solar installations and access to green space.
Digital infrastructure was also included, with full-fibre broadband coverage considered as part of the infrastructure that can support smarter energy and waste management.
One of Swansea’s strongest performances came in recycling.
According to the dataset, 71.7% of household waste in Swansea is recycled, the highest proportion among the urban areas included in the study. The figure puts Swansea narrowly ahead of Newport and significantly above Cardiff, which recorded 64.1% on the same measure.
Wales has pursued statutory recycling targets for more than a decade, with local authorities required to recycle at least 70% of municipal waste by 2024-25.
Separate official Welsh Government statistics show that 12 of Wales’ 22 local authorities met that statutory target in 2024-25, including Swansea and Newport. Across Wales, the household recycling rate increased from 64.6% to 66.7% during the year.
Swansea also performed strongly on air quality in the CoworkingCafe analysis. Average fine particulate pollution was recorded at 4.8 micrograms per cubic metre, giving the city the third-lowest level among those studied, behind only Dundee and Aberdeen.
Combined, the indicators gave Swansea an overall sustainability score of 57.52 out of 100 and sixth place nationally.
The city nevertheless recorded weaker results in some areas.
CoworkingCafe recorded 146.4 public electric vehicle charging points per 100,000 residents, placing Swansea 35th on that measure, while its 13.1% share of what the study describes as “eco-friendly cars” put it 45th.
The findings suggest that while recycling and air quality are significant strengths for Swansea, transport and electric vehicle infrastructure remain areas where its sustainability performance could improve.
CoworkingCafe's study, published on 24 September, compared 94 UK urban areas to examine the progress cities are making towards greener and more sustainable living.
