achieving greater manchester’s green ambitions · bringing together our global expertise and...

Achieving Greater Manchester’s green ambitionsA carbon neutral, climate resilient city-region with a thriving natural environment and circular zero-waste economy

A C H I E V I N G G R E AT E R M A N C H E S T E R ’ S G R E E N A M B I T I O N S

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A changing climate poses a critical challenge for our city region. Radical carbon reduction, based on sound, science-based evidence, will support Greater Manchester to achieve its ambition to be carbon neutral by 2038.

Our success will rely on efficient and integrated technical solutions in areas such as energy, transport and buildings, together with changes in our attitudes and behaviours. Investing in climate change resilience alongside this will help to protect vulnerable communities, infrastructure, the economy and our natural environment.

Achieving the ambitions of the city region requires a shift in our relationship with consumption, to develop a circular economy that supports sustainable growth. Through enhancing Greater Manchester’s natural assets, we can support carbon storage and improve biodiversity, whilst giving our communities better access to green spaces.

By building on education and skills, we can support and inspire our future generations and be sure our green investment delivers inclusive growth and social value. Collaborative action between businesses, local government and individuals will support positive change and ensure everyone can benefit from a green, zero carbon economy.

Delivering Greater Manchester’s green ambitions

The world is on a journey to zero carbon to tackle climate change.Arup is helping clients worldwide to innovate, develop and deliver on their ambitions to address climate change through utilising innovative tools, technology and overcoming challenges to create a sustainable future.


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A green city region

We must work together to tackle two of the most urgent and significant challenges in Greater Manchester - climate change and environmental decline.

Greater Manchester has the opportunity to be one of the leading green city regions in Europe. The Springboard to a Green City Region and 5-year Environment Plan have set the direction for addressing climate change and environmental decline, whilst optimising economic, health and social benefits.

Greater Manchester can be a centre of excellence for green technology and sustainable business. In doing so, we can mitigate climate change and develop in a way that maximises opportunities for inclusive growth and improves health and wellbeing.

Bringing together our global expertise and local knowledge, Arup is developing innovative approaches and solutions, to help create a sustainable future for Greater Manchester. Our investment in climate change research stretches across cities, energy, transport and water. Using this knowledge, we can support the shift to zero carbon across multiple sectors and help translate sustainability ambitions into meaningful action.

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R E D U C I N G C A R B O N , M A X I M I S I N G I M PA C T A C I T Y R E G I O N R I C H I N N AT U R A L C A P I TA L

Climate change is a global problem, but its solutions begin at a local level. By working collectively and collaboratively, we can radically reduce carbon to limit the effects of climate change.

Understanding the city region’s carbon impact, including supply chain emissions, can provide a robust evidence base to inform carbon reduction targets and strategies. Rapid carbon reduction will require prioritising the most effective mitigation measures and delivering them at scale and pace. This will include a blend of technology solutions, efficiency measures and behavioural change across multiple sectors, delivered to meet targets and maximise wider benefits.

A thriving city region ecosystem encompassing the natural environment, parks, open spaces and waterways will make Greater Manchester a healthier, safer and more liveable city region.

By investing in Greater Manchester’s natural capital, we will help reduce carbon emissions, improve biodiversity and provide valuable access to green space for all.

The Greater Manchester Natural Capital Investment Plan sets out opportunities to reverse environmental decline and protect the city region’s significant naturals assets. There are also ways to build nature into our urban systems, from green walls and street trees, to Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDs).

A broad plan for carbon reduction across the city region, with commitment from the private, public and third sectors, will help to set out a clear, achievable pathway to a carbon neutral Greater Manchester; where everyone recognises the part they can play. Through a collective approach to delivery, we can put plans into action and champion collaboration to solve complex challenges.

Arup’s technical input to the PAS 2080 global standard, our practical experience in advising city and regional scale carbon reduction and our partnership with C40 Cities puts us at the forefront of best practice carbon measurement and management; expertise that we use across our projects and collaborations.

Blue-green assets deliver a wide range of co-benefits for cities and their communities, including carbon storage and improved water quality. By understanding and developing a wider case for high quality public spaces and places, Greater Manchester can adopt innovative approaches to unlock this value. We are helping to achieve this through delivering integrated, total value assessments that recognise the worth of natural capital and collaborating with organisations like City of Trees, who aim to plant a tree for every man, woman and child who lives there, within a generation.

Managing and measuring radical carbon reduction

Natural environment

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A C I T Y R E G I O N O N T H E M O V E T O W A R D S Z E R O C A R B O N B U I L D I N G S

Greater Manchester’s transport network is critical to support its long-term sustainable growth and opportunities for all.

A cohesive transport network that reduces reliance on private car travel, will give Greater Manchester’s communities a variety of travel choices to meet their needs.

By integrating and improving connectivity to efficient public transport systems, such as buses (the life-blood of many economies), we can create a greener city region.

Greater Manchester’s housing stock contributes the most to its built environment carbon footprint.

Emissions from buildings account for 37% of UK Greenhouse gas emissions. Retrofitting existing buildings is one way to significantly reduce carbon emissions from heating and electricity use.

Better insulation and changes to a building’s fabric can reduce heating, cooling and lighting demands. This can be effective alone or alongside new renewable energy systems and technology such as heat pumps, to improve the performance of Greater Manchester’s new and existing buildings.

Delivering cleaner and more frequent bus services and one of the most comprehensive walking and cycling networks in the UK, are two important steps towards transforming the way we travel.

Making active travel the natural choice for shorter journeys and giving better access to clean, reliable public transport networks can deliver a range of benefits for Greater Manchester; including improved mental and physical health, access to jobs, reduced inequality and greater inward investment. At the same time, enabling sustainable travel will help alleviate congestion and improve the quality of air we breathe.

By adopting leading environmental standards for new buildings, including increased use of natural ventilation and Passivhaus Standards, the city region can cut carbon significantly. These improvements also have the potential to raise wellbeing standards, to improve building performance, occupier health and reduce fuel poverty.

Transport Buildings

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P O W E R I N G G R E AT E R M A N C H E S T E R

The energy sector is going through an unprecedented period of change and complexity.

The way we power and heat our homes and businesses, the need for cleaner air, transition to electric vehicles and evolving industrial processes are shifting the demands on our energy networks.

Increasing electrification of sectors is driving a greater need for secure and reliable energy supply. We believe that to tackle the challenge will require a mix of solutions at varying scales, located across the city region.

Sustainability, affordability and accessibility are vital elements of Greater Manchester’s energy programmes. Planning and delivery of these programmes needs to be carefully considered and supported by innovative technological solutions, to deliver efficiently for Greater Manchester. Our experience working with regulators, lenders, investors, contractors and customers, provides a basis for building collaboration across a range of stakeholders, to develop mutually beneficial plans and ways of working.

By taking collective action, and collaborating across sectors, Greater Manchester can provide certainty: the most important aspect in realising its energy ambitions and zero carbon future.

Energy

A C I R C U L A R E C O N O M Y

Greater Manchester has made a firm commitment to sustainable production and consumption, to transition towards a circular economy approach.

The journey towards a truly circular economy will take time, but this is a journey society must make together if we are to significantly reduce demand for resources, waste and carbon.

Greater Manchester can transition to a resource-efficient and ultimately regenerative circular economy, to begin to move away from the linear ‘take-make-use-dispose’ model of consumption. By demonstrating strong leadership, the city region can find alternative ways to maximise the value of its supply chain.

We understand the important role we can play to embed circular economy principles in the built environment. Arup is a global knowledge partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) which works to re-think, re-design and build a positive future circular economy.

Through the foundation’s CE100 business network, we are sharing knowledge and collaborating with partners to accelerate the shift to a circular economy. We believe collaboration between policy makers, institutions and planners is key to realise the wide-ranging opportunities.

Sustainable consumption and

production

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Arup’s engagement with others on green ambitions, alongside our investment in education and skills in Greater Manchester will support the city region’s transition to zero carbon, both now and for future generations.

We achieve the greatest impact where we offer our expertise and skills to help others. We achieve this through collaborative investments, pro-bono work, charitable partners and community organisations and schools.

I N V E S T I N G I N S K I L L S F O R T H E F U T U R E

Our Manchester office hosts a unique event designed to help schools engage with businesses called ‘Engineering Awareness Week’, each year with the Ahead Partnership. The programme delivers a week of focussed work experience and offers students across Greater Manchester real-world experience of a career in the built environment.

Promoting STEM subjects is one way we support our younger generations to develop their skills and career aspirations, so they know how they can make a difference to shape a better world.

Engagement, education and skills


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UN Sustainable Development Goals

A framework for positive local action, contributing to global sustainability goals.

The SDGs provide a common global framework to deliver meaningfully towards a sustainable future for all. The 17 goals cover environmental, social and economic considerations. Using the SDGs as a framework can help Greater Manchester to amplify its green ambitions and ensure the impact and benefits are distributed equitably across the city region, whilst contributing towards a collective, global aim.

Arup has strengthened its alignment with the SDGs, building on our decades long focus on sustainability. We want to understand our clients’ priorities and identify significant projects which will positively influence sustainable development outcomes, using the SDGs and their underlying targets as drivers for improvement.

The SDGs compel us to act for the long-term and think about how we collaborate with others to drive positive change. We’re using them to help our clients to tackle big challenges such as water resource management, improving life in cities and delivering inclusive and sustainable infrastructure.

United Nations Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs)

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Total Value is a new approach Arup is pioneering, to help our clients develop sustainable business plans to build long-term success.

Total Value is an integrated approach to both appraise and capture the wider benefits (or value) of infrastructure projects. It can be applied flexibly throughout the lifecycle of a project; from early commissioning, through design and construction, to operation.

A Total Value Approach

We appraise financial, economic, social and natural value, to understand the total return on investment. These elements are taken into account to give a picture of the true ‘net’ value which could be created when comparing costs to benefits.

Our analysis helps explore Total Value, to understand where organisations can be most effective in creating strategies and projects which deliver wider benefits for their stakeholders. This includes: impact assessments, commercial feasibility, economic cost-benefit, social value and natural capital appraisals and business case development. Our approach involves comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategies, including early engagement initiatives, to forge strong relationships and encourage community participation.

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M A X I M I S I N G O P P O R T U N I T I E S F O R R E N E W A B L E E N E R G Y G E N E R AT I O N

Go Neutral is helping Greater Manchester to understand the potential for its public sector assets to accommodate low carbon infrastructure. Arup has adopted a collaborative three phase approach, to help local authorities identify a number of areas with strong potential for large scale solar PV schemes.

Manchester Engineering Campus Development - MECDD E S I G N I N G A C U T T I N G - E D G E U N I V E R S I T Y C A M P U S

We’re working with the University of Manchester as the structural, mechanical, electrical and public health designers for their largest single construction development. We’ve informed the sustainability vision for the building which aims to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’.

Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan L E A D I N G A D V I C E T O TA C K L E A I R P O L L U T I O N

Arup is Lead Advisor for the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan, which seeks to address harmful roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations through a collective approach for the whole city region.


Highlights of our work

Northern Gateway R E - I M A G I N I N G S U S TA I N A B L E N E I G H B O U R H O O D S

Our multi-disciplinary infrastructure design and transport planning advice is shaping the masterplan for over 15,000 new homes in North Manchester. We’re improving connectivity and focusing on active and green travel, including walking and cycling.

Go Neutral


© Adriette Myburgh

© Arup


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About Arup

arup.com

Arup is owned in trust on behalf of its staff and we are the second largest employee-owned business in the UK after John Lewis. This unique ownership structure allows us to invest in research in the pursuit of technical excellence. We pass on this excellence to our clients through our projects.

We recognise the strategic, policy and technical challenges in achieving a sustainable future; and we’re increasingly using our skills and experience to help solve this.

We shape a better world.

6th Floor 3 Piccadilly Place Manchester M1 3BN United Kingdom

Tel: +44 161 228 2331

@ArupUKIMEA #ArupManchester #GMGreenCityThis brochure is produced using FSC certified 100% recycled paper.

achieving greater manchester’s green ambitions · bringing together our global expertise and...

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