Contact us

Julia Durkan – Head of Environmental Sustainability

As our Head of Environmental Sustainability, Julia leads a skilled and passionate team in tackling the urgent challenges posed by climate change and biodiversity loss. She oversees the development and implementation of the University's Environmental Sustainability Strategy and zero-carbon pathway and supports in delivery of the University's core goal for Social Responsibility.

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Sarah Choi – Environmental Sustainability Manager

Key areas: data, construction, waste, lab sustainability. 

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Lucy Millard – Environmental Sustainability Manager (currently on maternity leave)

Key areas: engagement and communications, Scope 3 emissions, responsible procurement.

Lucy is a full member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment and a Chartered Environmentalist with an MSc in Enviromental Governance. She has worked in a variety of environmental roles in the energy and higher education sectors and her work has won several awards.  

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Suzie Hardy – Environmental Sustainability Manager

Key areas: engagement and communications, Scope 3 emissions, responsible procurement

Suzie leads on our engagement campaigns to raise awareness and drive more sustainable decision making across the campus, and to find innovative and collaborative data-led approaches to reduce the carbon footprint of our estate, such as the goods and services we buy. Previously Suzie worked for the third biggest supermarket in the UK to deliver new and more sustainable ways to shop, including Asda’s first ever sustainability trial store in Middleton, Leeds.

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Izzy Whyte – Environmental Sustainability Officer

Key Areas: Valuing Nature, Sustainable Food

Isabel is responsible for two main areas based on the University's Environmental Sustainability Strategy: Valuing Nature and Sustainable Food.

Valuing Nature involves improving the university's biodiversity and green spaces, such as setting out goals and deliverables, planting appropriate species that will flourish and encourage biodiversity, and connecting sustainable data and resources with teaching & learning. Sustainable Food targets carbon reduction at Unicafes and Residences by adapting menus to reduce meat options and listing the carbon footprint of dishes. It is also interested in reducing food waste and plastic usage through the Bee Cup initiative.

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Emma McGuire – Environmental Sustainability Engagement Assistant

Key areas: Engagement, Events, Social Media

Emma helps to organise student and staff engagement at the University and assists the Environmental Sustainability Team with their virtual and in-person outreach to get more people involved with environmental sustainability initiatives. She recently joined the team after graduating with a degree in Environmental Science.

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Professor Nalin Thakkar – Vice-President for Social Responsibility

Professor Nalin Thakkar is Vice-President for Social Responsibility. Nalin is a clinical academic who has been associated with the University for more than 40 years. He undertook his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Manchester and after serving as a senior lecturer, he was appointed to Chair of Molecular Pathology in 2003. He was then appointed as Associate Vice-President for Risk, Compliance and Research Integrity in 2010. He is also a Consultant Histopathologist at the Manchester University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and leads a specialist head and neck histopathology service. 

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Professor Carly McLachlan – Academic Lead for Carbon

Professor Carly McLachlan is Academic Lead for Carbon and works closely with the Environmental Sustainability Team to try to reduce emissions across all areas of our activity – from business travel and commuting, to renewable energy procurement and reducing energy demand. She is Director of the Manchester Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and is Associate Director of the ESRC Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformation where she leads the centre’s city level climate action work. 

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Professor Jen O'Brien – Academic Lead for Sustainability in Teaching and Learning

Key areas: teaching and learning. 

Professor Jennifer O’Brien (NTF, PFHEA) is Academic Lead for Sustainability Teaching and Learning at the University of Manchester, UK.  Jen is the Education Lead for Sustainable Futures and directs the University Living Lab which links applied research needed by organisations with students who can undertake it for their assessment to effect change with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. A Development Geographer by training, Jen works with Education for Sustainable Development to inspire and equip learners to ethically address challenges of sustainability, inequality and social justice to affect positive change.

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Professor Mike Shaver – Director of Sustainable Futures

Michael Shaver is a Professor of Polymer Science in the School of Natural Sciences where he leads initiatives in sustainable polymers and plastics for the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub. He is also Director of the Sustainable Futures research platform which champions strategic, interdisciplinary, sustainable solutions to environmental challenges. He has published more than 110 papers, delivered more than 80 invited lectures and is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Chemistry and Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. 

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Dr Julian Skyrme – Director of Social Responsibility

Dr Julian Skyrme is Director of Social Responsibility at the University. Social responsibility is one of our three core goals and ensures that Manchester's learning, research, engagement and operational activities make a positive difference to society and the environment. He has first-class honours, master’s and doctoral degrees in social and political sciences and spent his early career as a teacher and Assistant Vice-Principal in a large urban sixth form college.  

Julian advises on the Strategic Education Partnership and Homeless Partnership Boards for Manchester City Council. He is a Board member of Loreto Sixth Form College, a trustee of MACC – Manchester‘s support organisation for the third sector, a Board Member of the community arts venue Carlton Club CiC and part of Business in the Community’s North-West Leadership Board.

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Simon Atkinson – Waste Coordinator

Key areas: recycling processes/infrastructure, contract management, Furniture Store, Campus Cleansing Unit.

Simon’s key roles include the management of the University’s general waste and recycling contracts and the clinical/offensive waste contract.

Simon has been at the University since 2007 and works for Operational Services within the Directorate of Estates and Facilities, and also manages the Campus Cleansing Unit. He is responsible for the installation of recycling processes and infrastructure across the main campus and manages the University Furniture Store. He also produces the content and updates the waste and recycling web pages.

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Peter Murray – Principal Energy Engineer

Key areas: energy management .

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Ah Yiu Chong – Assistant Mechanical and Energy Engineer

Ah Yiu is responsible for the monitoring of energy consumption across campus and reporting analysed data to the Sustainability team. With the help of energy management and simulation tools, Ah Yiu assists in the development and implementation of energy efficiency projects by providing insights on buildings’ performance and potential savings.

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John Vass-de-Zomba – IT Environmental Sustainability Manager

Key areas: Information Technology

John is responsible for ensuring the ITS Directorate contributes proportionately to the University’s carbon reduction targets and Sustainable Development Goals. In practice this means reducing our electricity consumption, taking sustainability into account when procuring IT goods and services, and optimising the use of personal devices, hardware assets and infrastructure across all of our sites. John is also looking for ways in which the ITS Directorate can help those in Faculties and other parts of Professional Services achieve their sustainability goals.

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Dr Maggy Fostier – Associate Dean for Environmental Sustainability

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Daniele Atkinson – Social Responsibility Manager (FSE)

Daniele Atkinson is Social Responsibility and EDIA Manager in the Faculty of Science and Engineering.  She oversees the delivery of Faculty objectives relating to environmental sustainability by encouraging staff and students to be environmentally conscious and ensuring that the outputs of our research into environmental sustainability are shared. Daniele is passionate about climate change and the environment, and does what she can to to minimise her and her family's impact on the earth. 

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Anke Bernau – Associate Dean for Environmental Sustainability

Associate Dean for Environmental Sustainability in the Faculty of Humanities. 

Anke Bernau is a Senior Lecturer in Medieval Literature and Culture, based in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, with a particular interest in Environmental Humanities. She has published on a wide range of topics (female virginity, origin myths, medieval film, poetics) and in recent years has turned towards work on new materialism, posthumanism and plant humanities. Her current book project, Knotworks, proposes an 'aesthetics of life' operating across late medieval European thought and writing, bringing such works into conversation with recent theoretical concerns and tropes. She has also published on the cultural history of hedgerows and ethics of care and is developing a new interdisciplinary and cross-period project on Moss Aesthetics and Ethics. 

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Roz Webster – Social Responsibility and Environmental Sustainability Projects Officer

Roz is responsible for overseeing Environmental Sustainability work in the Faculty of Humanities. Priorities include training and upskilling our staff on ES issues; implementing a comprehensive sustainable travel policy; and developing a biodiversity action plan. At the core of Roz's work is making sure ES is integrated into research and teaching. 

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Dr Tom McDonald – Environmental Sustainability and Engagement Lead, School of Natural Sciences

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Sam Franklin – FBMH Social Responsibility Project Officer

Sam drives the strategic development of the SR agenda with a particular focus on Environmental Sustainability and Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement. She oversees the design, delivery and evaluation of multiple, complex ES projects, including; communications, the LEAF programme and events.

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Alice Flannery

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Hannah Hartley – Environmental Action Manager

Hannah drives forward Manchester Museum’s commitment to building a sustainable world and develops programming which catalyses public conversations about the climate and ecological crisis. She co-manages the ‘Top Floor’ environmental and social action hub which opens up resources to people taking action for social change. She is also a Senior Assessor for the A Greener Festival certification scheme and a steering board member for the Greater Manchester arts and cultural sustainability network GMAST. 

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Alison Criddle – Museum Development Officer: Environmental Responsibility

Alison Criddle is Environmental Responsibility Officer for Museum Development North West, delivering the Roots & Branches project in partnership with Manchester Museum, the Carbon Literacy Project and Museum Development England, supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. She has spent several years growing environmental responsibility across arts and culture in Manchester and beyond, embedding action and strategy into organisational activities and programming.

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