As we end the month of November, we’re sharing five social responsibility highlights from our latest newsletter.   

We are thrilled to have been awarded a silver Race Equality Charter award for our work in addressing racial inequalities. This highlights our progress as well as identifies the ongoing challenges to develop a bold, ambitious, and sustainable plan to eliminate racial inequalities and become an anti-discriminatory, anti-racist, inclusive organisation where everyone feels a sense of belonging and can thrive. 

We are proud that our Whitworth has been awarded Gallery of Sanctuary status, pledging to create a culture of solidarity, inclusivity, and make the University a welcoming and safe place for refugees and asylum seekers.  

During the first year of adopting our new travel policy, our University has achieved an impressive milestone. We have nearly halved our air travel emissions, decreasing them from 18,641 tonnes of CO2e (CO2equivalent) in 2018/19 to just over 10,000 tonnes of CO2e in 2022/23. 

Our African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) has started projects in four major cities: Nairobi, Harare, Maiduguri, and Mogadishu. Aimed at reducing urban poverty and inequality, these interventions are the first in a portfolio of urban reform initiatives which ACRC is planning to implement, with the goal of accelerating transformative change in African cities. 

A new collection of evidence-led policy articles on mental health and wellbeing was launched on World Mental Health Day by Policy@Manchester, the University’s policy outreach and engagement team. The collection – Open Minds: mental health and wellbeing in policy and practice – combines insight and analysis on the causes, impact, and solutions to poor mental health and wellbeing. 

Read our November newsletter in full for more social responsibility stories. 

Dr Julian Skyrme, Director of Social Responsibility