The Well-being of Future Generations Act gives us the encouragement, the permission and the statutory obligation to make the changes needed to improve our social, cultural, environmental and economic well-being

Working in collaboration with Cardiff University, the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales has undertaken research and a Section 20 Review, to establish the extent to which the Act has been informing procurement decisions across the public bodies in Wales since 2016 (when the Act came into force).  

Involvement is at the heart of the Well-being of Future Generations Act.

Poverty in Wales would be halved if Welsh Government commits to a progressive Universal Basic Income (UBI), according to a major study commissioned by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Sophie Howe.

At this time of year, there is a lot of pressure on us to buy gifts for those that we love, and we want to make it special. But have you ever thought that when you are buying something, that there are two people in the transaction? The person you are buying it for, and the person you are buying it from - the producer, farmer or worker.

The world’s first Commissioner whose role it is to act as guardian for future generations, Sophie Howe (Future Generations Commissioner for Wales) will be highlighting how Wales’ is leading the way on safeguarding the interests of future generations when she addresses the United Nations High Level Political Forum in New York this week.

What I’ve learnt about climate change since becoming Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, earlier this year, is quite simply frightening. There is no doubt that it’s the greatest challenge facing future generations and action is urgently needed across the public sector to reduce our emissions and its impacts.

The purpose of our work is to estimate the total funding needed for the decarbonisation of homes in Wales, identify funding gaps and suggest approaches to addressing these gaps.

The Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Sophie Howe, in collaboration with Literature Wales and Wales Arts International, is announcing an exciting opportunity for an emerging poet to bring the Well-being of Future Generations Act to life.

A record number of online delegates joined the recent Cardiff Business School Breakfast Briefing to hear how the Well-being of Future Generations Act provides an opportunity to transform the way procurement is delivered in Wales. By moving towards an outcomes-based approach, we can ensure the £6 billion spent annually delivers the best outcomes across all four elements of well-being and helps to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being for current and future generations.

Over the next few months my team and I will be taking the opportunity to refresh our approach to what we do and set new areas of focus for our work.

People working for the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales will be able to receive cash support to escape an abusive relationship, it is announced today.

Since the bike-sharing scheme launched in Cardiff earlier this year, I was one of the people that took advantage of the scheme and began travelling using the nextbike for my everyday travels across the city. After using them a few times, I started raving about it to my friends and family, or anyone who would listen, and getting them to use it too.

Sophie Howe, will join Prince William, Pope Francis, Al Gore, and over 50 notable speakers at the first ever free TED conference this Saturday.

I am calling on the Welsh Government to launch a shorter working week trial.

During Fairtrade Fortnight, we, sixth form pupils from Llanfyllin High School were the audience of a Fairtrade assembly ran by Ffion Storer Jones of Montgomeryshire Federation of Young Farmers Club (YFC) and Nimrod Wambette; a Fairtrade coffee farmer from Uganda.

‘the leaders, the people, they rolled over like spent dogs, yawned above the warnings’

Wales’ new champion for the future of the nation is using his first day in the job to call for “urgent and transformational change” to improve people’s lives now and in the future.

People in Wales should be able to access nature four minutes from where they live, the Future Generations Commissioner is announcing during National Tree Week.

A radical, ground-breaking culture change is essential if public bodies are going to provide better service provision, now and for future generations

Ten years ago the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) launched a pioneering report – Zero carbon Britain – showing that we have the technology and solutions to reduce our carbon emissions down to zero.

The interconnections of people and planet: health depends on nature.

A catalyst for wellbeing of future generations in Wales - a special report by Wildlife Trusts Wales

We want to share inspirational stories about what people are doing to implement the Act, how it impacts on people’s lives now and in the future, interesting ideas from around the world

I am pleased to be publishing the first Future Generations Report.

This Sunday my daughter and I will be taking part in something significant. We will be joining thousands of women across the country marching to commemorate the brave women who came before us 100 years ago who marched, campaigned, starved and even died to get us the vote. 

Sophie Howe says we have  a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to reset Wales’ economy and is calling for “visionary ideas and transformative investment” in the nation’s recovery plan. 

Young leaders from all over the world will come together in London this week to discuss some of the biggest global issues facing future generations. From climate change to education inequalities, the future of work and media freedom.

Education fit for the Future A White Paper For discussion Produced by Professor Calvin Jones in collaboration with the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales

On a sunny day in June 2018, I was privileged to be invited to attend the Inaugural EU Cities Fair and Ethical Trade Award Ceremony, in Brussels along with representatives from 15 other EU countries.

We have the opportunity to create a better Wales for current and future generations.

Given the unprecedented challenges we’ve faced over the past couple of years, I want to acknowledge the commitment Public Services Boards (PSBs) have demonstrated in working together to prepare their 2022 well-being assessments.

Proposals to build a £1.1bn road to ease congestion on the M4 fail to set out how it will meet the needs of our future generations who will be burdened with paying for it,” says Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales.

In my role as the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, I have found an increasing interest over the last 6 months, from different sectors and indeed different countries to the Well-being of Future Generations Act and the work of our Office.

We are very pleased to see the Welsh Government publish this important report today accepting the recommendations of the Roads Review Panel which we supported. We thank them and Dr Lyn Sloman for their evident commitment to transforming the way we will move around Wales.  

Thousands of new ‘future-fit' jobs could be created if the new Welsh Government embraces a radical vision for Wales, according to the Future Generations Commissioner.

As a country not only have we led the way by becoming the first Fair Trade nation the Well-being of Future Generations Act make us the first nation to legislate and place the sustainable development principle at the heart of decision-making to improve our economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being. 

“I grew up in Conway in St Lucia, and I had the most wonderful childhood - growing up in the Caribbean - playing ‘Ticky Tock’ with these nice little stones, going on the boats and by the beach."

Art is good for mental well-being

During the Summer, we hosted our first event at the National Eisteddfod in Cardiff Bay. The subject of debate was, 'Should robots speak Welsh?' Here are the reflections of Meilys and Indeg who sat on the panel. 

More than two thirds of the public want the Government to consider future generations in policy-making – according to new research - and the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales is backing a campaign for a UK-wide law that protects tomorrow from the actions of today.

As we start the new school year, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of a very special upcoming date in the global calendar, which will provide you with an opportunity to introduce the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals to children and young people and unite them in action with others around the globe

Wales’ political parties must act now on the urgent priorities of the nation’s young people, the world’s first Future Generations Commissioner has warned.

Wales should explore paying everyone a basic income to study how it could improve lives for generations in the future, the First Minister is being urged.

The forthcoming budget is a defining moment for the Welsh Government.

We know we can’t tackle the challenges facing our future with the solutions we relied on in the past. Especially when those very ways of working often are what have created the global issues we face in the first place.

Cardiff is a really exciting place at the moment. We have a young and fast-growing city, with jobs being created, houses being built and a billion pounds worth of regional rail infrastructure on its way. There’s a real buzz about the capital city.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed deep structural inequalities in our economy and society including wage poverty, health inequalities, racial disparities, food poverty, job insecurity and imbalances in quality of housing. At the same time climate and ecological breakdown is escalating, and we risk exacerbating all of these challenges if we go back to the way things were.

In response to a British Medical Association survey that revealed that a quarter of GPs in Wales are considering leaving the profession.

Wales urgently needs a Universal Basic Income to help the country deal with the effects of COVID-19, Future Generations Commissioner Sophie Howe says.

The events throughout June have highlighted just what can happen when people make their voices heard about what matters to them. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to raise your voice for future generations.

Can't change slow got to change completely - Rufus Mufasa, Poet in Residence

As the summer holidays begin and many of us look forward to spending time with our own future generations, we’re reminded of just what well-being really means; spending time with loved ones, a bike-ride in the sunshine, or simply taking a well-earned break, it’s important to take stock of what’s already been a busy 2019.

The Future Generations Commissioner role, was established by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 - a pioneering piece of legislation which is unique to Wales

As the First Minister highlights, this is an opportunity to take a new approach. I am encouraged the Welsh Government recognises the need for new ways of working to make the most of its contribution to improving the wellbeing of people – today and in the longer term

In 2018/19, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales trialled a method of monitoring and assessing progress towards the well-being objectives set by public bodies – one of her duties according to the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

I recognise the significant challenges that the Welsh Government has faced in the past year, and it is positive that the draft budget for 2021-22, published in December 2020, emphasises the importance of a green and just recovery.

This paper is one of a series of reports being launched as part of the IWA’s ‘Re-energising Wales’ project, which in early 2019 will deliver a plan to enable Wales to meet its projected energy demands entirely from renewable sources by 2035. The report highlights a number of practical steps that can be taken to overcome Wales’ challenges.

A new easy-to-use guide will help public bodies to think and plan better for the long-term, by keeping a clear vision and taking future trends into account.

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act (2015) requires Public Services Boards to publish a local assessment of economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being.

The announcement back in March this year that the UK was going into lockdown was a shock to us all and created significant challenges as we navigated a new world which largely required us to stay at home.

In response to Cardiff Council's Transport Green Paper, published Wednesday, 21 March and the start of a city-wide conversation on big ideas that could shape the future of Cardiff's transport system.

This report sets out my assessment of progress made in implementing the Act within the first reporting period, i.e. the last three years

Currently in Wales we have a major skills gap. This is only going to widen as we move to green technologies and green jobs. We know that if Wales is to be prosperous, we need our workers to have the skills for the jobs of the future.

Imagine a person born 50 or 100 years into the future - how is their life going to be made worse or better by what you do today?

People making a positive difference to Wales’ present and future are being spotlighted by the first Future Generations Commissioner, Sophie Howe, as she comes to the end of her seven-year term.

For centuries we have learnt and understood the world around us through the ancient art of storytelling.

Should your organisation do it and, if yes, how?

Our younger generations are calling out the failures of past decisions, and sadly, often decisions in the continuing present that fail to take into account their futures – embarrassing, perhaps, but necessary.

Stronger, more focused action is needed to protect communities in Wales from the risks of Climate Change, says Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales.

The work we do in Wales continues to inspire organisations and governments internationally.

In response to a BBC Wales story on the numbers of Welsh women in prison for non-violent offences, Sophie Howe commented on how the impact on children and young people and contributes to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

Public bodies in Wales spend over £6 billion each year procuring a range of goods, services and works; this represents nearly a third of total devolved Welsh annual expenditure, and it is estimated that over the next decade Welsh public services will spend over £60 billion.

To mark International Women’s Day, Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales has announced a new staff policy that provides support and paid leave to staff who are victims of domestic abuse so that they can leave the abuse and secure safe accommodation.

Friends of the Earth Cymru, Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales and other environment, development and trade union groups are calling on all public sector bodies in Wales to stop investing in climate-wrecking fossil fuel companies.