Our commitment
We’re committed to supporting and encouraging our colleagues in all their environmental sustainability-related work.
Our Environmental Sustainability Team offer personal support and guidance to catalyse activity across the University, along with creating a culture of sharing and learning.
All new starters are offered a sustainability induction and we keep colleagues updated on the latest sustainability initiatives through our strategy, webpages and social media, along with communicating our progress against sustainability targets in a way that encourages active participation.
In addition to centrally-run opportunities that are available for all colleagues, Faculties also organise activities specifically for their disciplines. These include Carbon Literacy training, 6R, sustainable research showcases, UniGreen scheme, monthly training, improving green spaces on campus, and becoming a member of a sustainability committee. You can contact your Faculty sustainability lead on our Contact us page.
Opportunities for colleagues
We offer a wide range of opportunities for colleagues to get involved in sustainability initiatives:
Colleagues can access funding for environmental sustainability projects from each of our Faculties.
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
- Up to £2,000 available for initiatives covering social responsibility in the curriculum, engaging our communities and outreach. Find more information on the funding opportunities page.
Faculty of Humanities
- Up to £2,000 available for initiatives covering social responsibility in the curriculum and engaging our communities. Find more information on the social responsibility funding opportunities page.
Faculty of Science and Engineering
- Better World funding – up to £3,000 for projects that ‘make a difference’ and support the University’s social responsibility agenda.
Colleagues are encouraged to join our regular Active Travel Breakfasts, organised by Faculty colleagues. These events are designed to encourage staff from across our University to embrace active travel methods such as walking, wheeling, cycling and running for their commute to campus.
Active travel not only promotes mental and physical wellbeing but also contributes to environmental sustainability.
During these breakfasts, colleagues can make new friends, explore new commuting routes and cycle paths, and often find renewed motivation to get more active.
Featuring a free breakfast and raffle prizes, it’s a great opportunity to become part of our active travel community.
Make sure you don’t miss our next event by signing up to The University of Manchester Bicycle Users' Group (UMBUG) (cycling), MCR Strollers (walking), or emailing umrun@manchester.ac.uk (running).
For more information about active travel, visit the staff travel page.
Our Sustainability Squad (PDF, 225KB) is a cross-University group of staff that meets monthly to provide our staff and students with regular engagement opportunities. drive our staff and engagement strategy forward.
Together, we identify key behaviour changes needed to drive sustainable action to support our Sustainability Strategy and create a calendar of monthly sustainability topics. We then develop engaging campaigns and events, and collaborations for all of our students and staff to partake in, to inspire action and make a meaningful impact. Find out more about our campaign priorities on our Sustainability Squad Campaign Calendar (login with your staff ID).
If you’d like to join our Sustainability Squad, contact ES@manchester.ac.uk.
LEAF, the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework, is a structured programme aimed at evaluating and improving the sustainability and operational efficiency of laboratory practices.
University staff and students are encouraged to engage with LEAF to actively contribute to our sustainability objectives. By participating in LEAF assessments and implementing recommended improvements, staff and students can directly influence our laboratory operations, fostering cost savings, enhancing efficiency and promoting a campus-wide culture of environmental responsibility.
This involvement not only supports our commitment to sustainable practices but also provides valuable hands-on experience in implementing impactful initiatives across our academic community.
Staff at the University can download the full LEAF user guide (Word Doc, 812KB) to find out how to get involved.
The Environmental Sustainability Code of Conduct (PDF, 1.75MB) for Professional Services (PS) staff sets out how staff working in PS are expected to behave with regards to the environment. It provides an engagement scheme for staff and sets expectations around how staff are expected to behave with regards to the environment.
Professional Services leadership teams should ensure that environmental sustainability considerations are embedded into policies, processes and procedures to become part of business as usual culture and behaviours.
The University's Making a Difference Awards recognise the outstanding social and environmental impact our staff, students, alumni and external partners have on our local communities and the wider society. There are two specific environmental sustainability categories:
- Outstanding contribution to social and environmental impact through enterprise.
- Outstanding contribution to environmental sustainability.
We have a number of sustainability committees that help ensure the delivery of our strategies, policies and plans and recommend action to improve our environmental performance. Interested colleagues can email the Environmental Sustainability team to enquire about joining.
The Sustainability Network is our online engagement space for staff. Email the Environmental Sustainability team if you would like to become a member.
Our volunteering policy (Word Doc, 386KB) offers colleagues the opportunity to request up to three days a year paid leave to support a charitable cause of their choice. Colleagues will need to complete an Employee Volunteering Application Form and seek approval from their line manager for the requested time off. We encourage staff to use their volunteering time to support environmental initiatives.
Our Universally Manchester Festival takes place every June and provides colleagues an opportunity to showcase their contributions to environmental sustainability to the local community. All activities are grouped into three themes: greener, healthier, fairer.