Driving real-world impact
At Manchester, we’re at the forefront of tackling climate change.
We are number one in the UK and Europe, and number two in the world for social and environmental impact (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023).
Our research has influenced how the United Nations addresses greenhouse gas emissions, helped more than 250 local authorities reduce carbon emissions and transformed sustainable transport in cities.
- Our Sustainable Futures platform draws together the unique breadth of our interdisciplinary research.
- Our focus on advanced materials, biotechnology, cancer, energy and global inequalities uses a discipline-focused approach to tackle key global challenges.
- We focus on the four COP26 goals: mitigation, adaptation, finance and collaboration, so our 600+ researchers can deliver real-world ready solutions.
Mitigation
We’re working on technologies to enable sustainable reductions in carbon emissions.
Adaptation
We're pioneering solutions to help protect the communities and natural habitats most vulnerable to climate change.
Finance
We're changing to the way we consider climate in finance and business innovation.
Collaboration
We're sharing our insight and experience to empower action and work collaboratively to deliver progress, faster.
Developing tomorrow's leaders
Teaching the next generation of change-makers
Our students are a 40,000-strong force for positive social change.
Through initiatives such as The Sustainability Challenge and Creating a Sustainable World course, and by embedding sustainability into our teaching and postgraduate research, we equip students with the skills to improve lives for future generations.
By offering applied research through our Living Labs programme, our students graduate with first-hand experience of driving change with organisations across the world.
Leading the higher education sector
Inspiring change by example
Social responsibility is one of our three core strategic goals, sitting equally alongside research and teaching.
We’re tackling the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through our research, learning and students, public engagement activity and operations. Discover how in our 2021/22 SDG report (PDF, 11.2MB).
We encourage all staff and students to take part in our 50,000 Actions programme which is the largest environmental sustainability initiative in the higher education sector.
As a University, we've pledged to support Manchester’s climate change target for zero carbon by 2038 and will have eliminated all avoidable single-use plastic in our catering, stationery and labs by 2022. Through our Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework we’ve already generated a reduction of more than 26,000 plastic items per year.
Discover environmental sustainability at Manchester.
Tackling the climate crisis together
Work with us to achieve global change
Our insight and innovations are already making a positive impact on the climate crisis, but together, we can achieve more.
Whatever your discipline or interest, work with us to tackle climate change and create a better future for our world and the people in it.
