Established in 2018, the Manchester Climate Change Partnership (MCCP) continues to showcase the importance of collaboration across the city’s business community as we progress towards the net zero targets set out for us.

As both corporate supporters and members of MCCP, several of our team are heavily involved in helping the city create a climate change strategy that drives change, and to meet the city’s objective to be zero carbon by 2038.

Bringing together organisations across the city’s public, private, community, faith, health, culture and academic sectors that share the common goal of helping Manchester to limit its greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience to a changing climate.  It works with the Manchester Climate Change Agency (MCCA) and other partners to ensure the city develops and implements a climate change strategy that is aligned with science-based targets, built on the views of the city’s stakeholders.

The Agency (MCCA) is responsible for developing the policy and framework for climate change action in the City of Manchester.  One of the groups within MCCA is the Net Zero Carbon New Build City Challenge Task Group, which brings together experts across Manchester to develop policy and detailed technical recommendations.  In 2021 a Framework was launched, titled ‘Roadmap for Net Zero Carbon New Buildings’ that set out recommendations and a roadmap to 2025.  Our Co-Founding Director and Chief Executive , Stephen O’Malley initially chaired this Task Group up to launch of the Roadmap in 2021. With a taskforce of 17 representatives from across private, public and third party sector co-developing the roadmap, partners included Muse, Urban Splash and Bruntwood, who all came together to collaborate and tackle this crucial climate change issue.

With efforts ongoing, it was time for the group to reconvene in 2022 to evolve the 2021 recommendations for NZC new buildings for the period 2025 through to 2038 – the city’s target date for being Zero Carbon. With our Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, Julian Broster taking over as Chair of the Task Group last year, there’s some new faces to the group of cross-sector experts, made-up of planners, council officers, public & private sector developers, engineers, architects, funders, surveyors, academics, and constructors. With policy recommendations due to be submitted to Manchester City Council’s Town Planning team this Summer, sub-task groups include ‘Ambition & Targets’ , ‘Commercial viability and deliverability’ , ‘Case studies & evidence base’ , and ‘Local Plan’, the groups are hoping to accelerate and build on previous action as the race to achieve the targets continues to be led by professionals from across Greater Manchester’s built environment.

The NZC New Build Task Group works in collaboration with UK national guidance and organisations such as NZC Buildings Standard, UKGBC and LETI, as well as overseas initiatives such as C40 Cities and CDP, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).  Ultimately the evolving Framework being produced is generated by and tailored to the stakeholders of the City of Manchester and will become embedded into Manchester City Council’s adopted Local Plan from 2025 onwards.

Last month, MCCP held its annual away day afternoon at Manchester City Football Club, where the Partnership came together to hear about MCFC’s own plans to achieve Net Zero, together with a series of workshops, and presentations from Julian Broster and the other Task Group Leaders on progress to date.

As collective efforts continue to raise awareness of the scale of action needed to help this northern powerhouse be resilient to a changing climate, you can read more on the updates to the framework and associated documents here, as well as the ways you can help our amazing city reach its goals.