Goal 11: Policies, processes and practices

The following page outlines specific policies, process and practices in support of Sustainable Development Goal 11 Sustainable cities and communities.

Sustainable working 

We undertake a range of actions to promote more sustainable commuting (such as interest free loans for public transport season tickets or our low emission vehicle scheme) and we have committed to many more targets in our Environmental Sustainability strategy (2023-28, Section 5.5).  

 We promote remote working or offer a condensed working for employees as a matter of standard practice, as part of our Flexible Working Policy, which reduces employee commuting. Our flexible working webpages outline the different policies and guidance available alongside examples of flexible working arrangements.  

Our Hybrid Working Framework sets out the principles of hybrid working at the University and three main categories that the majority of roles will fall into. We offer video-conferencing facilities to allow staff to dial into meetings remotely and all staff have free access to meeting and video conferencing software (e.g. Zoom) to support remote working as well as Microsoft Teams, our digital hub for communication and collaboration across our University.  

Sustainable commuting

Our Environmental Sustainability Strategy (2023-38) commits us to measuring and setting specific targets for sustainable commuting across a wide range of indicators. We measure commuting patterns through our annual carbon commuter survey , which collects detailed data on how staff and students travel to and from the University, including walking, cycling, public transport, and car use. The survey tracks changes in travel behaviour over time and provides the evidence base for setting and refining sustainable travel targets.

The 2023/24 survey results indicate that commuting generated approximately 176,123 tonnes CO₂e, an increase of around 556 tCO₂e compared with 2022/23. These findings inform our investment in infrastructure and the development of initiatives to encourage more sustainable travel choices. Emissions from staff and student commuting are included within our Scope 3 Emissions , contributing to our overall Net Zero by 2050 target.

We also have a Travel Plan that establishes clear, measurable targets to reduce carbon emissions from travel and sets the framework for delivering more sustainable transport choices for our community. The Travel Plan focuses on setting ambitious targets and tracking progress through annual monitoring. A key target is to reduce the proportion of colleagues commuting by car from 32% in 2023/24 to 27% by 2030. This is supported by complementary measures such as phased increases in parking charges and the introduction of a car-sharing scheme to reduce single-occupancy vehicle use.

To promote sustainable commuting, we created CommuteUoM, a sustainable travel app designed to make low-carbon travel more convenient and affordable for staff and students. The app supports:

• Carpooling through journey matching, safety checks, and live tracking, helping to reduce single-occupancy vehicle use.
• Public transport by providing real-time route planning and ticket booking, including split-ticketing for cheaper fares.
• Active travel by connecting walkers, wheelers, and cyclists for shared journeys, increasing safety and motivation.
• Incentives and engagement through rewards, challenges, and leaderboards that encourage sustainable choices and build community.

Additionally, we are committed to promoting sustainable commuting through various initiatives on campus. As part of our target to achieve BREEAM excellent for new builds, and ‘very good’ for refurbishments, as governed by our environmental sustainability project tracker we prioritize infrastructure that supports and encourages sustainable travel.

We offer nine cycle shelters on campus, 4,000 cycle parking facilities including disabled cycle parking, and 65 showers to encourage cycling and active travel. Our campus map shows you where to find our cycling facilities.  Our Cycle to Work scheme can help colleagues to save money on bikes and accessories. We also offer an e-bike hire scheme for our staff members.  Each year we take part in Love to Ride, a global initiative to help more people realise the benefits of cycling.  The University of Manchester also has a Bicycle Users’ Group which is a friendly and welcoming community offering a buddy system and monthly events. Alternatively, we have a community for walkers called MCR strollers and UMRUN for runners.

To further enhance our active travel community we run quarterly Active Travel Breakfasts to provide staff resources and networking opportunities.

We also offer incentives to our people to travel by bus & train. Free travel is available on the 147 bus from Piccadilly Station to our main campus and Interest-free loans are available to colleagues to support the purchase of public transport annual season tickets.  For those that must drive we offer a low emission vehicle scheme for cars that emit less than 50g of carbon per km. There are eight electric vehicle charging bays in Booth Street West car park and four in Cecil Street car park.

Hybrid working

We support flexible and hybrid working to reduce travel emissions and promote wellbeing. Our Flexible Working Policy(2024) and Hybrid Working Policy (approved 2022 and reviewed 2023) enable staff, where operationally feasible, to work remotely for part of their week.

By limiting the need for daily commuting, this approach directly reduces single-occupancy car journeys and the University’s overall carbon footprint.

Through our Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2023 – 2038, we have committed to halving commuter emissions by 2038.

Flexible and hybrid working is a key mechanism for achieving this target alongside our sustainable-travel initiatives such as discounted public-transport passes, improved cycle facilities, and electric-vehicle charging points.

To ensure consistency and accessibility:

• Managers and staff receive guidance and templates to agree hybrid arrangements that balance service delivery with sustainability outcomes.
• Hybrid work is supported by University-wide digital-collaboration tools to minimise the need for business travel.
• Progress is reviewed through staff feedback and annual sustainability reporting.

Affordable housing for staff and students 

The University provides staff with housing support, evaluates affordable housing options, and offers financial aid to employees. We provide affordable and subsidised accommodation options for staff who wish to live in halls of residence. The affordability of these halls is aligned with staff incomes and evaluated against the local market. With all utility costs included, this can often be a more cost-effective option than private accommodation. Our housing options are designed to be accessible to staff, particularly those on below-median incomes in the UK. 

There is also the option for employees to volunteer as Residential Life Advisors, which in turn provides accommodation free of charge. In our Relocation Policy, we also subsidise the costs of housing relocation fees for staff and have self-contained flats for visiting academic staff or those relocating to the University. 

We also provide students with housing support, evaluate affordable housing options, and offer financial aid to assist them. Each year, we assess the local market to ensure we provide a range of affordable accommodation options. The cost of our student housing is lower than that of the private sector, and all students living in halls benefit from the inclusion of utility bills in their rent. For students facing financial challenges, we offer access to our Living Cost Support Fund, a non-repayable financial aid designed to help cover housing costs.

We also work in partnership with Manchester Student Homes (MSH), a university-owned, not-for-profit housing service that supports students seeking private-sector accommodation. MSH provides independent housing advice, a free tenancy contract-checking service, and maintains an accreditation scheme to ensure landlords meet high standards of safety, fairness, and affordability. All MSH-registered properties comply with the Manchester Student Homes Code of Standards, guaranteeing quality and fair rent practices.

Pedestrian priority on campus 

We have prioritized a range of pedestrian access schemes across campus as part of our commitment to promoting active travel, as outlined in our Environmental Sustainability Strategy (page 25). We have implemented several major pedestrianisation and access improvement schemes to create a safer, more welcoming, and sustainable environment for staff, students, and visitors.

Key transformations include the redevelopment of Brunswick Street into Brunswick Park, a tranquil green corridor that encourages walking and social interaction, and the partial pedestrianisation of Oxford Road, which has significantly reduced traffic, improved air quality, and enhanced pedestrian safety. The Old Quad redevelopment converted a car park into a biodiverse pedestrian space, achieving an 80% biodiversity net gain, while the pedestrianisation of the Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) and University Green areas has further improved walkability and created vibrant public spaces.

The Fallowfield redevelopment embeds pedestrian priority at the heart of its design. The masterplan creates a tree-lined, east–west pedestrian spine linking Wilmslow Road with Richmond Park, supported by smaller courtyard routes and a perimeter woodland walk. Vehicle access is restricted to essential use, with reduced parking provision to favour walking and cycling. Pedestrian and cycle links connect directly to surrounding roads, public transport, and existing campus routes, ensuring safe, continuous movement across the site.

All new developments adhere to BREEAM sustainability standards and include secure cycle storage, showers, and changing facilities to support active commuting. We prioritise pedestrian access on campus, as specified in the Code of Practice for Design Teams: 

• With the construction of a new building and/or public realm area, the access and routing of cyclists and pedestrians (many arriving by public transport) shall be given priority in order to provide an attractive option that highlights the importance placed on encouraging such travel behaviour. 
• All pedestrian routes shall provide clear and consistent facilities to a building’s entrances. 
• Any new pedestrian and cycle routes shall be linked up to any current or future provision (both University and ‘on highway’) 
• Routes shall also consider the access from public transport facilities, such as bus stops and interchanges/stations. 
• Designers shall consider how access from an interchange/station be improved by the design of the new building (e.g. entrance locations) and/or public realm facilities. 
• Facilities shall be in-keeping with current provision but, where feasible, should look to further increase the attractiveness of public transport, walking and cycling. 

These construction and refurbishment guidelines align to our Valuing Nature Action Plan, which targets a 20% biodiversity net gain in major projects and a 10% expansion of green spaces by 2028. Enhancing green spaces not only promotes biodiversity but also makes the campus more inviting, encouraging walking and commuting on foot.

To further prioritise walking, we’ve developed self-guided walking tours, such as Historic Campus and  Oxford Road Corridor tours, highlighting key sites and walkways. In our communications about getting to campus, we prioritize walking directions, making it the preferred mode of navigation.

Public access to our arts and heritage spaces

We provide free access to the public across all our buildings, monuments and natural heritage landscapes of cultural significance. Our ‘Open to the public‘ page showcases a range of our most significant University owned buildings and spaces the public can access for free. 

Libraries

We provide public access to our libraries, including books, publications, and special collections. The public have free and unrestricted access to the John Rylands Library, a major cultural and research library open to all visitors. This historic library welcomes visitors, researchers, and community members, offering access to extensive collections, exhibitions, public events, and reading rooms for free. In addition to the main collections, members of the public can consult rare books, manuscripts, and archives within supervised reading rooms, supporting independent research and lifelong learning. The library also provides access to digital resources, catalogues, and curated online exhibitions to ensure wider accessibility beyond the physical site.

Specialist archives, such as the Race Relations Resource, are also accessible to the public and support research, education, and community engagement on equality and social justice themes. Regular talks, workshops, and outreach programmes encourage local communities, schools, and visitors to explore and use these resources.

Museums 

We provide free access to the public to our museums, exhibition spaces and galleries on campus, across Manchester and beyond. Our Cultural institutions page details these free-to-access cultural institutions, which include:

• The Whitworth: Our art gallery driven by a mission to work with communities to use art for positive change is home to a collection of more than 60,000 works of art, textiles and wallpapers that are free to access. The gallery additionally offers free gallery tours open to all and led by a member of the Visitor Team.
• Our Manchester Museum offers the public more inclusive spaces for learning with new collections such as the South Asia Gallery, the UK’s first permanent space to explore the experiences of South Asian diaspora communities.
• Our Grade-I listed, neo-gothic John Rylands Research Institute and Library houses 250,000 printed volumes and more than a million manuscripts and archival items. There are also exhibitions and events that take place all throughout the year.
• Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre: A UNESCO World Heritage Site home to Bernard Lovell’s 76-metre Lovell Telescope. The centre also hosts a range of public engagement and educational activities, alongside an annual bluedot festival each summer.
• Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama: Offers a range of musical and theatrical events that are open to the public. The centre includes the 350-seat Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall and the 150-seat John Thaw Studio Theatre.

Green spaces

We provide free public access to our open and green spaces. These spaces include our Whitworth Park with plenty of trees, grass, shrubs and benches, plus adventure play areas. Our Brunswick Park offers green space for downtime and an enjoyable walkway through campus. We also have the University Green and the Alan Gilbert Square. Additionally, The Firs provides a green hub for research, teaching and community engagement.

Arts and heritage

We contribute significantly to local arts through a programme of ongoing free public performances. For example, the Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama offers a varied programme of arts events, many of which are free, to educate, stimulate, and engage audiences, and to provide memorable and inspirational experiences. The Centre includes two major performance spaces: the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall and the John Thaw Studio Theatre. According to publically available HESA data, in 2023/24 we welcomed 71,988 members of the public to free performance arts events. For instance, we operate the Walter Carroll Lunchtime Concert Series, free weekly concerts, held in the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall of the Martin Harris Centre. Additionally, University choral and orchestral groups perform annual concerts, further contributing to the range of public performances offered throughout the year. Collectively, these programmes typically comprise over 80 performances annually.

We provide free public access to open spaces and green spaces. We have a range of outdoor green spaces which we encourage the public to visit and they can permanently access these free of charge. These include our tree trail, Brunswick Park, the University green, Alan Gilbert square and the Firs Botanical grounds.

Cultural heritage

We record and preserve local, national, and displaced community heritage. We operate the Race Relations Resource Centre, which documents and preserves the history of global majority communities in Greater Manchester, including anti-racist activism, refugeeism, migration, and evolving perspectives on race and ethnicity. 

Our South Asia Gallery offers a contemporary, engaging look at South Asian and British Asian culture. It is the first permanent gallery in the UK to celebrate the experiences and contributions of the South Asian diaspora, showcasing world-class material from the British Museum alongside the best of Manchester’s South Asian collections. 

Through our Linguistic Diversity Collective, we collaborate with minority diaspora communities to document their languages. This initiative explores language use and acquisition in multilingual settings and contributes to language revitalisation and policy. For example, our ‘Multilingual World‘ podcast delves into multilingualism and linguistic diversity across the globe, inviting public engagement and promoting the preservation of displaced languages, such as those of refugee communities. 

Local authority collaboration regarding planning and development 

The University works with local authority collaboration regarding planning and development, ensuring local residents are able to access affordable housing. We work with Manchester City Council on the appropriate design, location and criteria for Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) across our city, which factors in planning issues and development and the impact this has on affordable housing for non-student residents.  

Our Global Development Institute and Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing have worked with local residents on a women-led social movement in a local housing association and tower block adjacent to our University to ensure its future affordability, viability and prosperity as the residents create a “naturally-occurring retirement village”. 

The University of Manchester and Bruntwood SciTech, in close collaboration with Manchester City Council, are working on a joint venture, Sister. This project will transform the University’s former North Campus into a 4 million sq ft, globally competitive innovation district, elevating Manchester’s position as a national hub for science and technology. Within this development, Sister aims to deliver over 1,500 new homes, designed to meet the needs of a diverse range of people living, working, and studying in the city.

Additionally, we worked closely with Manchester City Council throughout the Fallowfield campus redevelopment to align planning and design with local housing and sustainability priorities. The approved scheme will deliver around 3,300 modern student bedrooms, replacing outdated stock and reducing pressure on local private housing, helping maintain affordable options for residents. Through this collaboration, the Council and University agreed on key elements including sustainable design standards, improved public spaces and pedestrian routes, and integration with the city’s wider development and housing strategy.

Planning development – New build standards 

We design and deliver all new buildings to the highest sustainable standards. All new-build projects are required to achieve a minimum BREEAM Excellent rating, with an aspiration for Outstanding, and to secure at least 10 BREEAM Ene 01 energy credits. Each project must also prepare a Carbon Reduction Plan and demonstrate that at least 20% of total energy demand will be met through on-site low or zero carbon technologies.

The University has developed an additional bespoke standard, created in collaboration with academic and professional services teams, setting enhanced targets for energy, carbon, and environmental performance. Progress is monitored throughout design and construction using the Environmental Performance Management (EPM tES) Tracker, ensuring accountability at every stage.

Our  Code of Practice for Design Teams (particularly Sections 5, 6, 9 and 10) embeds sustainability from project inception through operation. It requires projects to apply passive design principles, optimise resource efficiency, achieve a 40% reduction in water consumption, and integrate Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems and biodiversity-enhancing landscaping. All new buildings must be adaptable to future climate impacts and include post-occupancy evaluations, Building User Guides, and real-time sustainability displays to engage users and drive continuous improvement.

Through the University’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy (2023-28) and  Campus Masterplan, we commit to:

• Delivering a 20% biodiversity net gain on all major construction and refurbishment projects.
• Applying Passivhaus principles or equivalent, where appropriate.
• Minimising construction and redevelopment waste through clear contractor requirements and measurement of outcomes.

These measures ensure that every new building actively contributes to the University’s goal of achieving zero carbon by 2038, while setting a sector-leading benchmark for sustainable planning and development in higher education and across the city of Manchester.

Building on brownfield sites 

Our Estates policies & strategies ensure the prioritisation of the development of new buildings on existing brownfield sites, thereby protecting green spaces, enhancing biodiversity, and improving flood resistance. This strategy is a core component of our Campus Masterplan, which not only focuses on current projects but also establishes future targets for sustainable development.

Recent examples of this approach include:

• Engineering Building (MECD): Constructed on the a bronfield site, repurposing a former student residential development, ensuring efficient use of land and resources.
• Alan Gilbert Learning Commons: Built on a brownfield site, repurposing existing concrete infrastructure from a prior building.
• Old Quad (2024): A newly created greenspace located on an old carpark, which has increased local biodiversity by 80%.

The University is also a proud member of the Manchester Climate Change Partnership, which fosters collaboration among key Manchester based organizations to support various initiatives aimed at achieving the city’s carbon-neutral goals. One of these initiatives is the promotion of developing on brownfield sites, which helps reduce carbon emissions and minimize the environmental impact of new developments while effectively reusing land.

Additionally, we have recently built a solar farm on 175 acres of brownfield farmland, which will enable the university to source up to 65% of its electricity from renewable sources. The new site will also create a significant biodiversity net gain. With enhancements to the existing hedgerows and planting of native grassland and wildflower meadow beneath and around the solar arrays, the site will encourage nesting opportunities for wildlife and improved habitat connectivity.