Making labs greener

Leading the way in achieving the University’s pledge to eliminate avoidable single-use plastic usage, staff in our School of Biological Sciences are reducing single-use plastics in the lab through adoption of a 6R approach.

This has included:

• refining protocol and optimising waste management;
• reducing single-use items;
• re-using materials, plastic containers and gloves;
• using recycled material;
• replacing plastics where possible with glass, paper or wood.

Watershed management

We’ve implemented watershed management strategies based on location-specific diversity of aquatic species.

These ensure flow rates of water run-off in our urban environment are decreased and water quality is improved, including reducing flow into our local River Medlock on campus.

At our rural Jodrell Bank site, we’ve also reduced flow into our local watercourses, protecting the great crested newt – a protected species that relies on aquatic life.

Ocean warming and shark survival

Our undergraduate students have assisted a study into the effects of warming ocean waters on the small-spotted catshark embryo’s freeze response: a technique whereby the embryo stops moving so that predators won’t detect them.

The research found that with a 5°C water temperature increase there was a seven-fold decrease in the length of time the embryos froze for in the presence of a predator stimuli, indicating that as oceans warm, many shark and ray species may reduce in number due to increased predation.

Divesting from fossil fuels

We’re ending investments in fossil fuel reserve and extraction companies by 2022, and ‘decarbonising’ all other investments by 2038.

This policy was developed in consultation with the University’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and our Students’ Union.

Towards net zero

The University has pledged to support Manchester’s climate change target for zero carbon by 2038.

This involves reducing carbon emissions from a 2018 baseline of 54,000 tCO2 to at least 21,000 tCO2 by 2025 and placing carbon impact at the heart of strategic decision making in the University’s new strategic plan.

Student campaigning and activism

Our Students’ Union set up Climate Justice Fortnight, an initiative exploring the different ways that climate injustice manifests itself, and how we can tackle it.

There are Teach-Ins throughout the fortnight where students and academic staff collaborate on delivering content on these issues in their current class times.

Students also organise activities and actions through societies such as the People and Planet Society or Extinction Rebellion Youth; get involved in sustainability leadership roles such as the Students’ Union’s Ethical and Environmental Officer; take on  environmental representation roles in halls of residence; and attend events and campaigns such as the youth strikes for climate action.

Climate action in study programmes

Our students are taking on the challenge of climate change across hundreds of undergraduate and postgraduate modules in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering.

In addition, every undergraduate student has the opportunity to take Climate Change and Society, a unit offered by our University College for Interdisciplinary Learning, which explores the politics of climate change action and analyses the challenge from the perspective of multiple stakeholders and different nations.

Social Value Portal

We’ve become the first higher education institution in the UK to adopt the Social Value Portal, the leading online tool that helps organisations prioritise and measure their social value when they procure, or pay for, major services.

Want Not Waste

Want Not Waste is a student-run, zero-waste shop on campus, supported by the University to grow from a small stall operating out of our Students’ Union, to owning its own independent unit.

They’ve also developed a series of online resources to foster a community of knowledge sharing and inspiring pro-sustainable choices.

Sustainable travel

We received platinum accreditation from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), recognising the University’s contribution to sustainable low-carbon travel.

Cultural institutions

Our four key cultural institutions – the Manchester Museum, the Whitworth, John Rylands Research Institute and Library and Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre – provide access to more than a million visitors each year to engage with buildings, collections, monuments and natural heritage landscapes, advancing how our city and region can be inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

University Living Lab

Our University Living Lab applies the energy and expertise of students to real-world sustainability challenges by developing student projects with external organisations linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Equality marks

Equality charter marks are an important way for universities to demonstrate and measure their commitment to creating a fair, inclusive and supportive environment for everyone. They provide external recognition of the progress being made to promote equality across areas such as gender, race, sexual orientation, and background, while also helping to identify where further improvement is needed. By engaging with these frameworks, the University show accountability, shares good practice, and ensures that equity and inclusion are embedded in our culture, policies and everyday activities. 

• Stonewall Top 50 employer for LGBTQ+ equality
• Bronze Award for Race Equality (use logo)
• 15 Athena SWAN Chartermarks for Gender Equality
• Care Leaver Covenant signed to support care leavers to live independently.
• University of Sanctuary status in support of our work with refugee and asylum seeker students
• National Network for the Education of Care Leavers Quality Mark which signifies we demonstrate support for the inclusion and success of students with care experience or who are estranged.

Diversity monitoring

Our latest Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) annual report shows that:

• 3% of employees disclosed that they are disabled
• 9% of staff declare they are Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic
• 5% of our staff are female
• 8% of staff classify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or other
• 22% of students are the first in their immediate family to gain a degree
• 1.1% of students (407) are from low or lower-middle income countries as defined by the World Bank.

Zero tolerance

Our Speak Up! Stand Up! campaign and reporting procedures through our Dignity at Work and Study Policy make it clear that we take a zero tolerance approach to bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination or victimisation by any members of our community.

Equity and Merit Programme

Our Equity and Merit Programme supports the brightest minds from some of the least developed countries in Sub-Saharan Africa – Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe – to develop skills for sustainable development in their home countries.

Thanks to funding by the University and the generosity of our donors, more than 300 international students have completed master’s programmes with us.

Reducing inequalities through our cultural institutions

Following the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, our gallery’s Whitworth Young Contemporaries was motivated to create an Other Utopia zine which connected art, ideas and communities to challenge white narrative of its collections.

Our Museum’s Our Shared Cultural Heritage youth project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, utilises a range of engaging activities and events to explore and celebrate the shared histories and cultures of the UK and South Asia.

Talking Migration

Academics from our Department of Politics have created Talking Migration, a free, publicly accessible podcast filled with discussions, debates and interviews on all aspects of the politics of migration.

Race Archives and Community Engagement

Our University Library hosts the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah RACE Centre – an open access library and outreach facility, based in the city of Manchester’s Central Library.

The Centre specialises in the study of race, migration and diversity, empowering communities with the information and knowledge they need to challenge racism.

Student Action for Refugees

Our students are involved in volunteering and campaigning with the Manchester branch of Student Action for Refugees (STAR) to support those in need of refuge in the UK.

EDI interdisciplinary course unit

Our new interdisciplinary unit, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI): Your Role in Shaping a Fairer World, is open to all undergraduate students and empowers them to take responsibility for promoting inclusive approaches to study and work.

Social Justice Challenge

All second-year students can take part in our Social Justice Challenge, an online programme exploring key issues relating to migration, homelessness, education, mental health, energy and trade.

Addressing inequalities through study programmes

Students address inequalities in a wide range of course units.

These range from undergraduate Sociology students examining social inequalities in contemporary Britain right through to master’s programmes in International Development.

Manchester Innovation Factory

Our Manchester Innovation Factory helps protect and commercialise our innovations and intellectual property by creating 15-20 new spin-out companies each year based on our novel ideas.

Innovation GM

We’re working with leading innovators from business, science, academia and local government in developing Innovation GM.

This is a new partnership to form the basis of a collaboration deal with government to create as many as 100,000 new jobs and boost the economy by £7 billion.