Manchester Climate Change Partnership, which we’ve been part of for some time, has launched two reports which will be key in helping Manchester achieve its ambitions of becoming a zero carbon city by 2038 at the latest.

The ‘Net Zero New Buildings: Shaping Manchester’s Local Plan’ report, published by the partnership’s Net Zero New Buildings City Challenge Group, explored how local planning policy can be used to help reduce the city’s emissions from new buildings, and support efforts to stay within its science-based carbon budget.

Led by Julian Broster, our managing director & co-founder, with industry experts from across the built environment and support from Manchester Climate Change Agency and Manchester City Council, the group examined best practice standards from across the UK, performance data from local planning applications and exemplar new builds, and the financial barriers and drivers affecting progress.

The resulting report recommends a series of targets for Manchester’s Local Plan that cover operational energy, upfront and embodied carbon, escalating over time and being tailored to different building types and scale of development. It also recommends a ‘retrofit first’ approach.

Julian said: “New buildings offer a unique opportunity to integrate cutting-edge green technologies and designs from the ground up, ensuring they are energy efficient, resilient and sustainable. By prioritising decarbonisation in these new buildings, we can extend beyond environmental impact to include economic and social advantages and also help Manchester to significantly cut its carbon emissions.

“Green buildings have been shown to increase property values and attract higher rental incomes, as more businesses and residents seek sustainable living and working environments. This trend not only boosts the local economy but also creates jobs in the green construction sector.”

The second ‘Accelerating Net Zero: Retrofit of Commercial Buildings in Greater Manchester’ report, published by the partnership’s Commercial Building Retrofit City Challenge Group, is aimed at helping accelerate retrofit action in the commercial building sector in Greater Manchester.

Energy consumption in Manchester’s commercial buildings is responsible for 12% of the city’s emissions, according to the 2022 Update of the Manchester Climate Change Framework, making it a priority area for action.

Led by Bruntwood, the group explored the barriers to retrofit including: an unambitious regulatory landscape, a lack of fiscal incentives and an underdeveloped retrofit supply chain; and identified that less than 10% of commercial buildings in Manchester are responsible for over 60% of the direct emissions from this sector.

The resulting report sets out a clear decarbonisation pathway, with targets for different sizes of commercial building escalating over time, and includes recommendations for the city-region, that have been tested with wider stakeholders, to explore how local fiscal instruments, planning policies and skills/supply chain developments can accelerate change.

Samantha Nicholson, director of Manchester Climate Change Agency, said: “It is fantastic to be able to launch and share these two reports today. The expertise and time that organisations from across our built environment sector have put into this work has been amazing to see and is an incredibly valuable contribution to the shared challenge of tackling climate change. Decarbonising our built environment is vital if we are to achieve our net zero goals and urgent action is required. Thankfully, the rewards and benefits of concerted action are significant, for our economy, society and natural environment, and will help to create a better, greener future for all.”