The University of Manchester

Zero carbon without a net

Adopting a zero carbon target is one thing.  Achieving it is another.  Where to start?  In two years we’ve gone from having a “true zero not net zero” target without a plan to having a timeline of what needs doing, when, an estimate of cost, and sector-leading funding to kick things off.  This “what, when, how much?” approach has brought the target to life for everyone from engineers to the Board of Governors. 

We’ve secured nearly £140m of internal funding and scored three big wins from external sources.  We’re now beyond strategizing and into delivery, with our first air-source heat pump-only building ready soon, and much more to come.  Is this ambitious project fully funded?  No.  Are we on schedule to stay within our carbon budget? Sadly not. But we have a clear plan of what we need to do to achieve a sustainable, better campus.

Annual carbon savings achieved with the initiative:

• CO2t savings 2022/2023: 390 tonnes CO2e (Actual).
• CO2t savings 2023/2024: 9,910 tonnes CO2e (Estimate).
• CO2t savings over the life cycle of the project:  Very hard to say as it depends on the speed of campus decarbonisation plus rate of grid decarbonisation. Our likely cPPA will save approx. 100,000 tonnes of carbon over 10 years (based on current national grid carbon conversion factor) (estimated over 10 years).

What the Judges Thought

The judges were impressed with the honest, forward looking, innovative, transferrable, scalable and holistic approaches involving carbon budgeting to help deliver the universities Zero Carbon Masterplan (ZCM) with effective ongoing evaluation and realistic assessment of outputs yet to be realised. 

The judges were very positive about the carbon budgeting approach, recognising the challenges it may pose in the coming  years. They felt that others in the sector can learn from this entry, from the excellent understanding, candid assessment and for communicating Zero Carbon instead of Net Zero Carbon to a wider audience.

What it Means to Win

“Winning the prize would be a powerful signal to our community about the seriousness with which we are working to our zero carbon target. Our entry is a great example of academic and professional services staff working together and success would be valuable recognition for them.”

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice-Chancellor

Top 3 Learnings

1. Don’t assume that everyone immediately gets why decarbonisation is so important. 
2. Keep it simple, ditch the jargon. People just want to know how it affects them.
3. Big financial estimates are scary at first, then focus the mind.