Innovation

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buildings in Manchester
Energy Saving
Innovation
Published: 19/03/2026
News
Green Summit 2026: Why sustainable growth is essential to building a diverse city region

John Cooper, Real Estate and Infrastructure Partner at Deloitte discusses sustainable growth in Greater Manchester

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Skyline view of Manchester
Innovation
Energy Saving
Published: 05/03/2026
News
Green Summit 2026: Supporting Greater Manchester’s green future starts with people

Jo Ahmed MBE, Practice Senior Partner for the North West at Deloitte discusses Greater Manchester’s plan to become carbon neutral by 2038.

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A builder fitting a window
Innovation
Published: 05/03/2026
News
Green Summit 2026: Making low-carbon homes work in the real world

In one of our guest blogs for the Greater Manchester Green Summit, NIBE Energy Systems discuss improving the energy efficiency of homes.

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A work person installing solar panels.
Innovation
Energy Saving
Published: 04/03/2026
Blog
Green Summit 2026: Bringing practical renewable innovation to Greater Manchester

Sureserve highlight how practical renewable projects, such as Sureserve’s community solar scheme in Swansea, can cut carbon, lower bills and create local economic value.

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Aerial view of Manchester cityscape with modern skyscrapers, mid-rise buildings, rail tracks, and ongoing construction.
Energy Saving
Innovation
Published: 23/02/2026
News
Green Summit 2026: Greater Manchester leading the way – why Sureserve is proud to sponsor the Green Summit 

Sureserve discuss people-centred climate action and its measurable progress in home energy upgrades, carbon reduction, and local skills development.

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Five bricks on grass
Energy Saving
Reducing Waste
Innovation
Published: 23/02/2026
News
Green Summit 2026: From the earth, for the Earth: Redefining Circularity

earth4Earth discuss carbon-capturing, recyclable bricks and how they support Greater Manchester’s net-zero ambitions.

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A beige brick building facade with concrete framing, featuring a small open window on the left that reveals industrial equipment and a wrapped cylindrical tank inside. Sunlight casts warm tones and faint shadows across the wall.
Energy Saving
Innovation
Published: 16/02/2026
News
Green Summit 2026: Carbon-negative brick innovation, turning walls into carbon sinks

earth4Earth discuss creating carbon-negative bricks that capture and store CO₂, turning buildings into long-term carbon sinks.

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Four adults stand shoulder to shoulder at an awards event, smiling toward the camera. The person on the left holds a glass plaque reading “Public Finance Awards 2025 – Winner – Outstanding Procurement Initiative.” They are dressed in formal or business attire against a dark backdrop with event signage and stage lighting visible.
Innovation
Energy Saving
Published: 16/12/2025
News
Greater Manchester leads the way with award-winning procurement and sustainability initiatives

Greater Manchester wins national awards for smart procurement and strong action on sustainability and social value

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Bee sitting on lavendar
Natural Environment
Innovation
Published: 18/07/2025
News
A greener future for the North West as £2.6m in funding announced

Blackpool, Liverpool City Region, Salford and Manchester received a funding boost today of £2.6m in total, to help ensure people living in their areas can enjoy nature and green spaces, close to home.

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Headshot Dr Mithila Achintha
Retrofit
Innovation
Published: 04/06/2024
News
Calculating the Carbon impact of Building Retrofit Works

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has joined forces with the University of Manchester to develop a carbon calculator for quantifying the carbon impact of building retrofit works, providing a better understanding of materials and solutions with the least carbon impact.

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Foundation Building, Altrincham
Natural Environment
Home & Workplaces
Innovation
Published: 08/05/2024
Blog
The Altrincham Living Wall – Progressive, Science-led Green Infrastructure

Reducing the heat demand from existing commercial and public buildings and increasing engagement with our natural environment are just two Five Year Environment Plan priorities addressed by introducing nature based solutions such as living walls to buildings, inside and out. Living walls also provide essential climate adaptation measures, helping to keep the buildings warm and cool, increasing biodiversity, acoustic dampening and improved psychological wellbeing.

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UBU Road Sweeper
Reducing Waste
Innovation
Published: 29/04/2024
Blog
Creating a circular economy solution to road sweeper waste

Demonstrating how innovative thinking can help address environment concerns as well as making good business-sense, UBU, a Manchester-based road sweeping provider, has invested in a wet waste treatment plant which separates waste into recoverable streams like sand, aggregates, and ‘cake’ residues. Read more…

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Take action…

To make a big change, we must all take small actions. Becoming greener and making an impact is easier than you might think. We have put together a range of blogs, articles, toolkits and checklists to help you make a start.

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Although we set out with a simple mission to reduce plastic waste, we’ve quickly realised that it’s just one piece in the sustainability puzzle. One of the biggest, but most easily attainable actions we can achieve is to look at where our goods come from and reduce the carbon footprint needed to get a product from manufacturer to consumer. Many of the products we stock are made by local, independent manufacturers, who provide us with a wide range of things from reusable face wipes, wax food wraps, face coverings, soap bars, plant pots, kitchen cloths/sponges and butty bags.

Carl from Lentils and Lather

Our aim is to start changing the habits of families in Greater Manchester by getting them to ‘borrow’ rather than ‘buy’ brand new toys. We’re making sure that toys can be reused again and again by children who need and want them – and they are not just sitting in a cupboard or under someone’s bed.

Kim from That Toy Thing

The best part of upcycling is that old furniture is often better made than the equivalent flat-packed furniture we get today and with a little bit of time, love and care, you can create a completely unique piece of furniture for your home that no one else will have. I also love that these pieces of furniture have a history of their own and through transforming and updating them we can breathe a new lease of life into them.

Hannah from Tread Softly

The Green Recovery Challenge Fund is providing a further boost to the ambitions of the Great Manchester Wetlands Partnership to create a thriving, inspirational and connected landscape. It supports the recovery of wildlife through habitat creation and improvement as well as community recovery through providing opportunities for local people to develop skills, knowledge and beneficial connections to their local natural environment.

Jo Kennedy, Coordinator of the Great Manchester Wetlands Partnership

The reason I signed up to the Green Homes Grant scheme was two-fold, selfishly the measures will add value to the properties and make them more valuable in the future. But more importantly it benefits the tenants, keeping them warmer and prevents problems like damp and condensation. Ultimately measures like external wall insulations should keep tenants happier and ensure they remain in the house for longer.

Neil, Rochdale property owner

We used to think we didn’t have enough time to shop on our local market because we were working; how wrong we were?  We discovered it is an amazing place to shop for plastic free. We swapped tea bags for tea leaves and coffee jars for beans which we buy from The Market Grounds on Ashton Market – well worth a visit as the homemade cakes are delicious. All the stall holders have been amazing, not one of them minds us taking our containers to be filled with meat from the butchers. We get our bread, cheese, fruit and veg from the market too.

Julie from Ashton-under-Lyne

Kat Mulhall, Events Manager at Victoria Baths Trust in Manchester

Although becoming carbon neutral is important to our organisation, it’s a lot of work for a small team to put the measures into place. The Journey to Net Zero course has given me practical, step-by-step advice that has made it easy for me to lay the foundations for our organisation to be able to take action and achieve our goal of becoming carbon neutral.

Kat Mulhall, Events Manager at Victoria Baths Trust in Manchester

Kat Mulhall, Events Manager at Victoria Baths Trust in Manchester

The Business Growth Hub has given us focus and extra knowledge. They’ve helped us form the base to grow sustainably and work efficiently as a team while making us conscious of our environmental impact as a business.

 

Ollie Birchall, Founder of Nutri Bar

I’ve not really been a cyclist throughout my life, more of a runner to be honest. And certainly not commuted. But I just thought if I’m going to change, surely now is the moment to change. I’m feeling the personal benefits of doing it. You just feel better when you come into work. It clears your head. There are benefits of cutting congestion, cleaning up the air. Everyone benefits when people cycle.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester

We think our water fountain is INCREDIBLE, it’s the perfect place for people to ‘refill’ and help themselves to any of the free edibles we’ve got growing in Market Place. We’re so grateful to all the organisations that helped make this happen. Alongside the plastic free motion that was passed by council and helped us achieve our first Surfers Against Sewage objective and in turn our Plastic Free Community status, it shows real commitment in reducing plastic waste and supporting our community.

 

Pete Fillery, Plastic Free Rammy and Incredible Edible Ramsbottom

I guess I’ve always been what you would call a conscious consumer. I’ve always detested plastic bags, all of my skin care products at home are plastic-free, vegan, and sustainable. My toothbrush is made of bamboo, there’s no plastic anywhere in the house. Everything in the salon has to be vegan – that was the first rule for me. We started with one brand of haircare products that was vegan, organic, and Fairtrade, but the distributor in the UK was wrapping all of the deliveries in plastic, and it felt really needless, so we ditched them.

 

Rachael, Gronn eco-salon in Bury

Although becoming carbon neutral is important to our organisation, it’s a lot of work for a small team to put the measures into place. The Journey to Net Zero course has given me practical, step-by-step advice that has made it easy for me to lay the foundations for our organisation to be able to take action and achieve our goal of becoming carbon neutral.

 

Kat Mulhall, Victoria Baths Trust, Manchester

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