Our work on Goal 13

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Goal 13: Climate Action

Goal 13: Climate Action

As one of the world’s leading research institutions and the UK’s first university to have social responsibility as a core goal, we’re tackling the SDGs in four inter-related ways: through our research, learning and students, public engagement activity and operations.

Here’s a selection of our work addressing Goal 13.

Research

Investigating the Housing and Construction Sector’s Role in Net-Zero Challenges

A research team from the Alliance Manchester Business School and Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIOIR) is working on a project for The Productivity Institute: ‘Addressing the net-zero and productivity challenges: How could the housing and construction sector play a key role?’. The team is looking to develop a more precise understanding of the productivity challenges in the construction sector and hope to uncover ways in which more sustainable practices can deliver productivity improvements. The research project focuses on solutions for the UK market and involves extensive collaboration with industry. Importantly, the ultimate aim is to help advance towards the UK’s net-zero target and improve productivity growth targets.

University Living Lab Nominated for an Earthshot prize

The University Living Lab applies the expertise of students to real-world sustainability challenges through developing student research projects with external organisations to help meet sustainability goals. The University Living Lab was created after Dr Jennifer O’Brien from our University’s School of Environment, Education and Development and Academic Lead for Sustainability Teaching and Learning was awarded a Higher Education and SDGs Challenge Grant by the Association of  Commonwealth Universities (ACU). In 2022, over 40,000 staff and students at our University were nominated for The Earthshot Prize for their practical action on climate change. The Earthshot Prize utilizes the massive global force for sustainability to produce change whilst shaping the decision makers of the future. In the last two years, the University has saved CO2 through active travel, shaped municipal climate change policy, increased biodiversity and enabled ethical consumption whilst empowering and equipping the future workforce of a net zero world.

 

Learning and students

University holds Talking Science Competition

Each year, the University’s Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH) hosts the ‘Talking Science Competition’ where second year undergraduate students and above are invited to share their ideas on how science can create a healthier, fairer and greener world, creating a unique opportunity to talk about a subject that really matters to them. Winners are selected by a panel made up of Faculty academic and professional services staff, alumni and sci comms students.

The Great Science Share for Schools

Each year we hold the Great Science Share for Schools (GSSfS) which engages school children with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2022, 25 primary schools across Greater Manchester worked to investigate air quality in their local area in the ‘Great Science Share Clean Air Challenge,’ thanks to a partnership between The University of Manchester and the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science. The GSSfS theme for 2023-2024 is ‘Sustainable Science,’ which encourages students to think about global sustainability issues and climate action.

 

Public engagement

Ardwick Climate Action

Ardwick Climate Action in partnership with our University and Manchester City Council facilitated the closure of the A6 to raise awareness about air pollution. During the closure, we monitored pollution levels on the A6 and compared findings with data collected from days with average flows of traffic throughout the year. The event also hosted over 15 partners with activities on the day to provide education about climate issues.

Top Floor of Manchester Museum Opens Up

Manchester Museum’s Top Floor is a space for people to come together to learn, share ideas and connect with the community. You’ll find education groups, charities, artists, writers, staff and students co-working and collaborating here, with a shared commitment to social and environmental justice. The Museum has also appointed Hannah Hartley as the Environmental Action Manager, where she works across all areas of the museum to drive forward its ambitions in environmental thinking and action, establishing sustainable practices, and building on the Museum’s rich experience in developing narratives and programming in response to the climate crisis.

 

Operations

The University Reduces Air Travel Emissions By 46%

Our University has cut our air travel emissions by 46% compared to pre-pandemic levels, decreasing them from 18,641 tonnes of CO2e (CO2equivalent) in 2018/19 to just over 10,000 tonnes of CO2e in 2022/23. The reduction in our emissions is equivalent to the carbon produced from driving over 32.5 million miles in an average petrol car. Our new  travel policy, which was put into effect last year, supports our ambition to be a leader in developing sustainable research and teaching practices. It includes several changes such as encouraging staff to have meetings online rather than in-person and to consider travelling by rail rather than air.

Tracking Low Carbon Energy Use

Each year we track the amount of low carbon energy used across the University. For example in 2021/22 academic year we used 583GJ from low carbon sources. This comprised of energy from wind, solar, nuclear, solar thermal and ground source heat pumps.