Our latest updates | June 2026
Manchester Climate Ready is supporting Manchester to be a city where climate action improves lives, drives prosperity, and restores nature.
Here’s some of our key updates on this work from the last few months.
Setting the right strategy and targets
Supporting our city to adapt
From plan to delivery
Manchester's City-Wide Adaptation Evidence Base and Detailed Actions, which sets out how climate change is already affecting Manchester and where action is most needed, is moving into delivery.
MCR are working with action owners across the city to turn priority actions into a live pipeline with named leads, clear ownership and timescales. Alongside this, we are reviewing adaptation governance to understand where activity is already happening and where coordination can add the most value.
The MCR Board will oversee progress through an annual adaptation deep dive, helping to maintain momentum and identify opportunities to accelerate action.
Mapping where nature can hold back the water
As part of Pathways2Resilience, the GMCA-led, EU-funded programme, we have developed the scope for a surface water mapping exercise to identify where nature-based solutions and sustainable drainage could help reduce flood risk across Manchester.
The findings will feed into Manchester's growing pipeline of adaptation projects and have already sparked discussions with United Utilities about progressing two potential sites.
Supporting the Council on Adaptation Reporting
Manchester City Council was one of a small number of councils selected to take part in the ARP4 pilot – a national programme designed to help organisations understand climate risks and plan how they will adapt. We supported the Council throughout the process, helping to strengthen understanding of climate risks and adaptation activity ahead of anticipated wider reporting requirements under ARP5; the next round of reporting.
What is coming nationally?
The Climate Change Committee's recent A Well-Adapted UK report offers a clear message: while climate risks are increasing, the damage is not inevitable. Proven, cost-effective adaptation measures are available now, making it a useful resource for organisations looking to take action.
London Climate Action Week
We attended London Climate Action Week in June, including a Stockholm Environment Institute roundtable at the Swedish Embassy focused on delivering a well-adapted UK through stronger national and local governance.
The discussion brought together representatives from local and national government to explore how policy can better support adaptation delivery on the ground as the next National Adaptation Programme (NAP4) is developed.
“Holding this discussion during a heatwave brought home the reality that adaptation is not a future challenge – it’s something we need to deliver now. It was encouraging to see strong agreement across national and local government on the need for action, and to showcase Manchester’s cross-sector approach as a model for turning climate risk into practical, coordinated action.”
Influencing National Planning Policy
MCR submitted a collective response from members of the Partnership on the National Planning Policy. Our response recommended that the policy be more ambitious in that net zero standards in local plans need to be able to be set higher than the national standards.
Manchester’s Best Practice Built Environment Series
Supported by MCR, colleagues at Civic, Deloitte and SimpsonHaugh have been delivering a series of events to explore approaches to sustainable development, share best practice and support a network of professionals committed to creating a resilient built environment in Manchester.
A further two events in this series have been held so far this year, outlined below, and more events are being planned – watch this space.
Reciprocal Risks: The Two-Way Climate Challenge for the Built Environment
Held in collaboration with Don’t Waste Buildings, a panel of industry experts explored the topic of balancing speed and quality in retrofit. Points were raised around the need for early-stage information, collaboration and community engagement to deliver better outcomes faster.
Insights from Stanley Square were shared to highlight system thinking, showing how walkability, local investment and retrofit can strengthen local economies, reduce carbon and build resilience.
Discussions during the event also emphasised tackling inequality, investing in nature, and using heritage and local identity as foundations for successful placemaking.
Event speakers:
Sally Stone – Professor of Adaptive Reuse, Manchester School of Architecture
Lauren Teague – North West Chapter Lead, Don’t Waste Buildings
Cllr Tom Ross – Leader of Trafford Council
Paul O’Hare – Lecturer in Geography & Development, Manchester Metropolitan University
Nick Fleming – Partner at SimpsonHaugh
Innovation and Tech in Retrofit
Held at the Renold Building’s Innovation Hub, Basil Demeroutis, Managing Partner at FORE Partnership, presented on the Commercial Retrofit Innovation Map, a live tool bringing clarity to the retrofit innovation landscape. The Map brings emerging solutions together in one place, organising them into domains, systems, clusters and nodes to help project teams navigate options, compare interventions and support collaboration to accelerate emissions reduction.
During the session Basil also explored its application on No.1 Poultry, the Grade II listed building in London. A panel discussion followed focusing on the tools and skills needed to deliver high-quality commercial retrofit at scale, including how to understand and manage risks in practice.
Event speakers:
Basil Demeroutis – Managing Partner at FORE Partnership
Joe Webb – Development Director at GRAHAM Group
David Wood – Pre-construction Technical Lead at Willmott Dixon
Thank you to everyone who has helped organise these events, to our guest speakers and all those who have been in attendance.
Tracking progress
Partnership Survey
Members of Manchester Climate Ready are taking climate action to cut their own, or their communities’ emissions. Each year, members complete a survey to capture positive action, both complete and ongoing. The following is a summary of what members told us in our most recent survey.
Of the organisations that took part:
100% are taking actions to reduce their emissions. Over 200 of these actions are already underway or are being implemented later this year, with actions broadly relating to buildings, energy, transport and nature.
90% have a plan to reduce their emissions as an organisation.
97% are carrying out climate-related reporting for their organisation.
88% specifically collect and report on their greenhouse gas emissions, 64% of those saw a decrease in emissions in their most recent accounting year.
82% deliver climate change training to staff.
82% of organisations have identified climate-related risks or vulnerabilities, with heatwaves, extreme heat, and flooding being the most reported risks.
All responding organisations have identified a benefit from taking climate action. The most reported benefits include: reduced business risk, talent attraction and retention and cost savings.
Taking action
Supporting Manchester’s residents
In Our Nature
Following In Our Nature’s huge success over the last few years, we were able to secure a further £1.75million from the National Lottery’s Reaching Communities Fund to deliver more projects, more support and more opportunities for Manchester’s residents to experience the everyday benefits of taking climate action.
Read more about what the In Our Nature programme will be up to over the next four years, here.
“We’re delighted to be able to bring even more In Our Nature activity to Manchester, improving the lives of local residents and supporting Manchester’s climate ambitions.
Over the next four years we’re going to be building on all the amazing work that’s come before; creating more opportunities for people to get involved and sharing what we learn along the way. We’re really excited to get started.”
Eurocities
We were delighted to see In Our Nature nominated for the prestigious Eurocities 2026 ‘City Initiatives: Urban Climate Action’ Award in recognition of the programme’s design and delivery to date.
It’s wonderful that In Our Nature has been recognised on the international stage at Eurocities 2026. It’s a real testament to all those involved who should feel incredibly proud of what they’ve been able to achieve.
Sharing insights to support action beyond Manchester
Horizon Europe
The UK and Italy continue to strengthen collaboration through Horizon Europe climate programmes, creating new opportunities for knowledge sharing and joint innovation.
As part of this work, MCR Director Sam Nicholson attended the UK–Italy Europe Brokerage Mission on Climate and the Built Environment, bringing together experts from academia, industry, SMEs, local authorities and research organisations. The programme provided an opportunity to share expertise, explore common climate challenges and build partnerships that can help accelerate the transition to more sustainable and climate-resilient cities.
Net Zero Cities
Manchester and Stockholm participate in the NetZeroCities Twinning Learning Programme, a peer-to-peer initiative designed to help European cities fast-track their transition to climate neutrality. Stockholm acts as an expert Mission City, sharing its systemic transformation methods with Manchester.
The partnership provides Manchester and Stockholm with a structured framework to exchange practical, on-the-ground climate solutions.
Manchester visited Stockholm twice, most recently in May this year, and Stockholm visited Manchester in November 2025, joining our annual event and speaking to MCR Partnership members and wider stakeholders about their best practice including on heat networks, re-use of construction materials and engagement with local communities.
Welcome
We’d like to welcome: WGM Solutions and YMCA Manchester to Manchester Climate Ready.
Thank you for joining. The Partnership is now made up of 42 members, representing over 42,000 employees in Manchester.
Could your organisation join Manchester Climate Ready?
Join a growing network of businesses and organisations across the city who are working together to play their full part in helping our city to tackle the causes and impacts of climate change.
Take the lead. Make an impact. Join us.
An update from Manchester Climate Ready
To enable us to more effectively support the city in delivering Manchester Climate Ready: The Plan 2025-2030 a decision was taken by the MCR Board and CIC Directors to move MCR into the care of Manchester City Council.
It’s a really positive step for Manchester Climate Ready, providing valuable stability and longevity, and allowing us to maintain our focus on our Projects, including the next stage of In Our Nature, and supporting the city on the delivery of Manchester Climate Ready: The Plan 2025-2030.
This move will also enable us to better deliver our strategic objectives to:
Ensure Manchester maintains a science-based approach to climate change through a robust strategy and targets,
provide independent expertise that helps accelerate change,
champion the delivery of effective climate action,
engage and influence stakeholders and communities to act,
provide evidence-based reporting on the city’s progress towards its climate goals, and
help establish Manchester as a world class city for action on climate change.
We will be maintaining the independence of our activities, advice and reporting, as well as appropriate financial separations. The Manchester Climate Ready Board will also continue to provide governance and oversight for delivery of MCR: The Plan, supported by a new sub-committee formed of MCR’s CIC Directors.