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 (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.  

Affordable housing for staff and students 

We provide affordable and subsidised accommodation options for staff who wish to live in halls of residence. The affordability of the halls is evaluated based on the local market, and given all utility costs are included, it can be a much cheaper option than private accommodation. 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 affordable housing and financial aid for students. Each year we assess the local market to ensure we are providing a range of affordable housing options for our students. All students living in halls benefit from the inclusion of utility bills in their rent. Students who have challenges around affordability are able to access our financial support – our Living Cost Support Fund, a non-repayable financial aid that can help meet the costs of housing. 

Pedestrian priority on campus 

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 entrance/s. 
• 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. 

 This is evident in our most recent capital plan – the Fallowfield development. 

Local authority collaboration regarding planning and development 

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 vision is for ID Manchester to be recognised internationally as one of the world’s leading applied innovation districts. Home to the UK’s most exciting new ideas and disruptive technologies, its core specialisms will be centred around advanced materials, health innovation, digital technology and biotech. Located in the heart of the city, next to Piccadilly Railway Station, the completed development will create over 10,000 new jobs and deliver education, apprenticeship and training opportunities for local communities. ID Manchester is a joint venture between The University of Manchester and Bruntwood SciTech, working in close collaboration with our local authority Manchester City Council. ID Manchester aims to deliver over 1,500 new homes designed to meet the needs of a wide range of people living, working and studying in the city. 

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”. 

Planning development – new build standards 

We build new buildings to sustainable standards. We follow national BREEAM standards for new buildings and major refurbishments. A number of our capital projects have achieved BREEAM Excellent rating.  

We have developed an additional bespoke standard working with our academic and professional services teams and set further targets during the construction phase to monitor environmental performance on site (page 7).  

Our Code of Practice for Design Teams also outlines multiple requirements for project teams to design to sustainable standards, particularly sections 5, 6, 9 and 10.

Building on brownfield sites 

Our Estates policies and priorities ensure that we first consider any new buildings utilising existing brownfield sites where there have been buildings previously built. This protects green spaces, biodiversity and flood resistance.  

Our Campus Masterplan has allowed us to, and creates further future targets to, build on existing brownfield sites. Our recently completed engineering building MECD was built on the site of a former student residential development and our Alan Gilbert Learning Commons was built on a brownfield site utilising an existing concrete infrastructure from a former building.