For many, the climate emergency is no longer abstract but a real societal problem. Having already set an ambitious science-based target to be carbon neutral by 2038 – 12 years ahead of UK’s target - Manchester is ahead of the game and already creating significant business opportunities to lead as a sustainable city of the future.
Local Government has already spent over £100 million to reduce the carbon impact from public buildings and social homes. But the appetite for change goes far beyond this. Government, academia and businesses in Greater Manchester are ready and waiting to collaborate with forward-thinking innovators to discover, develop and deploy new technologies across transport, energy, retrofitting and much more.
Smart Energy
Innovations in technology are giving the power of local energy production to Greater Manchester, allowing the region to make its own decisions on energy infrastructure to create a network that delivers low carbon, affordable energy to residents and businesses.
Manchester is a transmission & distribution and Smart Grid industry cluster which includes Siemens Transmission & Distribution; RXPE Power Engineering and WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff.
From hydrogen as a new form of energy to graphene as a conductor for electric vehicle batteries, Greater Manchester’s institutions are leading the way with innovative research on the next generation of ideas to power a future green economy.
Nuclear
Manchester is located at the heart of the UK’s largest nuclear industry, home to significant nuclear orientated businesses, including the world-leading University of Manchester Dalton Nuclear Institute.
Transport
From investment in cycling and walking infrastructure to public transport reform and research into more sustainable forms of travel utilising advanced materials, Greater Manchester is serious about discovering greener ways to manage transport and travel.
Retrofitting
Retrofitting is high on the agenda and local Government has already invested £27 million this year with plans for a further £118 million investment to retrofit social homes to 2024 and £6 billion to 2038. This equates to circa 250,000+ social households.
Consultant Engineering
Manchester is home to a large cluster of world-leading engineering practices such as Jacobs Engineering and Bouygues Energies & Services, providing a range of engineering, technical consultancy and architectural services to national and international projects.
Green Finance and Legal Services
The Greater Manchester Environment Fund (GMEF), the UK’s first regional environmental impact fund, aims to generate over £100m of funding and investment to align with projects that benefit the environment around Greater Manchester.
Innovation Test Bed
World-leading research facilities, state-of-the-art science parks and dedicated “living labs” provide businesses with controlled and real-world environments to test and trial new low carbon innovations.
Green Skills & Jobs
The Low Carbon Environmental Goods and Services sector is thriving in Greater Manchester, with over 45,000 people employed, and annual sales of £6.7bn. To meet demands for retrofitting and green projects, new skills will be needed to drive the region’s carbon net zero economy of the future.
Natural Environment
Work is underway to protect and improve the natural environment across Greater Manchester, with exciting developments including the City of Trees initiative and Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
