Research strength: Sustainable futures

Our research helps shape policy and practice on sustainability challenges including climate impacts, local air quality and aircraft noise. We support the development of evidence-based policy and practice at both the national and international level.

Chairing, membership and participation in influential sector bodies, including:

• Airport Council International’s global Airport Carbon Accreditation 
• ECATS International Association
• European Aviation and Environment Working Group (EAEG)
• UK Sustainable Aviation Coalition
• International Civil Aviation Organization’s Committee on Aviation Environment Protection (ICAO-CAEP)
• UK Jet Zero Council
• UK Civil Aviation Authority Environmental Sustainability Panel

Leading and/or contributing to international assessments, including:

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group I and Working Group III
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report
• Potential for incorporation of aviation’s non-CO₂ impacts into the European Emissions Trading Scheme

And providing environmental management training to airports around the world, on behalf of ACI Global Training.

We are a world-leading provider of carbon literacy training - contributing to a global education programme to help citizens, businesses and public bodies move to low carbon and zero carbon ways of working.

Our work includes developing and delivering courses to:

• enterprise partnerships
• local authorities
• arts groups
• social housing providers
• museums
• schools and colleges

We also run train-the-trainer sessions and undertake research to evaluate the impact of carbon literacy training.

Part of the University’s Waste 2 Resource Innovation Network, we lead Manchester Met’s research on new ways to use and re-use resources.

We provide support to organisations moving from a ‘linear’ consume-and-dispose economy to a circular approach based on reuse and recycling.

Our specialisms include:

• waste management
• awareness raising and education
• circular materials, particularly plastics
• product design
• manufacture and product life extension
• circular business model innovation

We are a founder member of the UK Consortium on Sustainability Research to build on our commitment to sustainable development.

We help individuals and groups to build the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to support sustainable development.

Some aspects of sustainable development can be complex and changeable, and we reflect this in our training.

Involving researchers from several disciplines gives us the ability to tailor our approach to needs of the organisations we work with, whether they are community groups or policymakers. The support we provide ranges from hosting informal discussions to running formal courses.

Our training role helps us better research the wider provision of education for sustainable development.