Earlier this month, Manchester City Council took the first steps to implement its strategy for zero carbon by 2038. With this, Manchester is moving to make fundamental changes to the city that have a much wider impact, slowly but surely helping to bring about positive UK-wide change.
In a city that’s as growth-driven as Manchester, it’s become more important than ever to review our carbon foot print and enact targets that will aid the sustained protection of our environment.
Playing Our Full Part
In November 2018, Manchester City Council adopted new science-based targets based upon the four "Playing Our Full Part" proposals developed by the Manchester Climate Change Board. These proposals were put forward asking the city to:
- Adopt scientific carbon reduction targets
- Commit to developing a Draft Action Plan by March 2019 and a final detailed Action Plan by March 2020 to deliver these targets
- Use these targets to engender more benefits for Manchester’s residents and businesses than were previously capable
- Work with partners to ensure that Manchester accelerates its efforts to encourage all residents, businesses and other stakeholders to take action on climate change
More information on the Manchester Climate Change website. It’s an ambitious plan, with serious targets that place an especially difficult set of challenges over the next few years. In total, the city is aiming to reduce carbon by 15 million tons, almost half of that coming in the next 4 years.
But change is already afoot
Mayor Andy Burnham has been campaigning for our city’s green status since his election - his manifesto even stated his commitment to “a new, accelerated ambition for Greater Manchester on the green economy and carbon neutrality”.
We at Windmill Green hold similar values. As you might have seen from our social channels, we like to discuss sustainability and the importance of a shift in environmental attitudes, but we also like to practice what we preach.
With the development of our scheme, we’ve now secured the “Outstanding” BREEAM top rating – a scale that benchmarks us against other commercial developments in terms of ‘green’ ethos and environmental friendliness – we’ve brought some of the most innovative solar PV panels ever installed in the UK to our site which are now firmly fitted, and we’ve incorporated highly efficient glass and low wattage LED lighting throughout the build to decrease energy usage.
Now whilst turning to energy-saving equipment is a great way to reduce our carbon footprint, it alone won’t help us reach carbon neutrality. While we don’t have the space to plant trees, as they’re known to get quite big, what we have done is create an expansive living wall in our foyer, made up of thousands of different plants that spend their day drinking in carbon dioxide and dispelling oxygen, leaving the area fresh and clean for our occupants.
With Windmill Green, one of the most visionary and talked about developments in the heart of Manchester, FORE Partnership remain fully engaged with this bold vision that Manchester has to make their city a leader in the fight against carbon emissions.
And we’re not on our own in the quest for a greener Manchester. Here’s a sampling of news stories in recent months alone that show a renewed focus and shift in how businesses operate in the region:
- University of Manchester hospitality and events team grabs top sustainability award
- The Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040 looks towards a cleaner environment
- Manchester-based fashion retailer Boohoo admits there’s ‘more we can do' for the environmental impact of fashion
It’s time to go (Windmill) green. To find out more about what we’re doing to fight this good fight, you can read our blog here!
