Painting the town green

Having led the industrial revolution, now Manchester is leading the green revolution. The city has committed to becoming zero-carbon by 2038, 12 years ahead of the nationally mandated schedule.

Manchester also declared a Climate Emergency last year, further cementing its commitment to tackling climate change. That commitment is partly a response to Greater Manchester’s experience of extreme weather events such as 2018’s Moorland wildfires, exacerbated by the unusually warm and dry conditions, and flooding in 2015.

Greater Manchester is on track to meet its goal of reducing CO₂ emissions by 41% between 2005 and 2020. Slashing them further to 50% of 2005 levels by 2025 will be a greater challenge. Meeting this goal requires an annual reduction of 13%, compared to the 4% fall in CO₂ emissions recorded in 2019. Further progress on cutting Manchester’s emissions will need action across all sectors, including developing new buildings, operating existing homes and offices, and transporting people around the city.

Heating effectively

A significant chunk of Manchester’s greenhouse gas emissions come from heating homes. Switching to greener electricity is just part of the solution. Developers need to consider how to incorporate energy-efficient features such as ground-source heat pumps into new homes from the design stage, rather than leaving residents to retrofit.

Just under a third of CO₂ emissions across Greater Manchester are from domestic use. These domestic emissions have fallen by about 20% since 2005. Much of this is a result of electricity coming from increasingly green sources, with CO₂ emissions from electricity down -58%. Emissions from gas use are only down -18%, however.

New build homes in Greater Manchester are on average 31% more energy-efficient than the equivalent second hand stock, and produce 64% less CO₂. New build homes in Manchester tend to be more efficient than the national average – typically 4% more energy-efficient, and produce 28% less CO₂.

To reduce CO₂ emissions further, we need to consider how best to improve gas heating’s efficiency or to reduce reliance on it entirely.

Electric heating tends to be about four times more expensive per kilowatt-hour than gas heating. In 2018, 15.5% of the population of Greater Manchester were unable to afford to sufficiently heat their homes. As electric heating becomes more common, care must be taken to ensure that heating costs remain manageable for residents.

Developers will need to find the balance between building homes with higher efficiency, lower running costs, and how viable it is to build homes with more expensive heating systems. Standard electric heating costs less to install than gas and is less polluting, but has higher running costs. Air- and ground-source heat pumps are more efficient and cost less to run, but are more expensive to install. Delivering these technologies will challenge viability until they become mainstream. As ever, the main challenge will be to balance this against other competing agendas, particularly in lower-value areas.


Smarter, Greener, Faster, Better

Manchester isn’t new to sustainable offices. With One Angel Square, The Co-operative Group aimed from the start to create a highly sustainable building, demonstrating on a massive scale that it’s possible to deliver commercially viable office buildings that minimise waste, cost, and environmental impact. On completion in 2013, the building was awarded BREEAM Outstanding with a score of 95.16 percent – the highest ever achieved. One Angel Square set a benchmark for office buildings and showcased what can be achieved through a socially responsible approach to design and construction.

Fast forward to 2020, and it is no surprise that sustainability is rising up developers’ agendas, as Manchester’s occupiers demonstrate they’ll only pay premium rents for buildings with strong environmental credentials. More than 76% of buildings let above £30 per sq ft had a BREEAM rating of at least 'very good', rising to 100% of buildings let above £35 per sq ft. Tempting workers back to the office post-pandemic requires office occupiers to offer a better workspace than staff have available at home. Buildings demonstrating the greenest credentials will attract the investors and occupiers they need to benefit from the ongoing flight to environmental quality.

A good example of this is Landmark, which is let at Manchester’s current top rent of £36.50 per sq ft. Landmark has a BREEAM rating of 'excellent', and an EPC rating of A. In addition to this, the building includes many sustainable features such as electric car charging points and solar panels, and was constructed using sustainably sourced timber.

Occupiers are recognising real estate’s role in attracting top talent and supporting their staff’s productivity. Emerging evidence suggests they’re prepared to pay premium rents if a building’s specification can help bolster their bottom line. For example, improving indoor air quality can improve employee productivity by as much as 11%, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. This means metrics, such as the WELL rating, that account for health and wellbeing in buildings are becoming ever more relevant.

Bruntwood’s redevelopment of 111 Piccadilly from a 1965 office block into one of the UK’s smartest buildings showcases that attitude to health and wellbeing. It’s the first flexible workspace in Europe to achieve a Platinum WELL rating, which is reflecting in rents quoted at a 20% premium to other office refurbishments in the city. The building has sensors to monitor air quality and energy use and incorporates a circadian lighting system to help regulate occupiers’ alertness and sleep cycles. With the Savills What Workers Want Survey highlighting how important it is to get the basics right to keep employees happy and productive, features such as lighting and temperature can no longer be confined to a footnote in modern office design.

To Bee, or not to Bee?

While Manchester’s buildings are growing greener, the city has made less progress with its transport infrastructure. Emissions from transport fell just 6% between 2010 and 2018.

To help reduce transport’s impact, Manchester has embarked on an ambitious programme of investment into cycle lanes and footpaths, known as the Bee Network. The Network’s first route launched last summer. On completion, it will stretch across 1,800 miles around Greater Manchester. Transport for Greater Manchester expects the Bee Network to boost the number of people cycling by 350% over the next 10 years. This would replace many cars on the road, leading to lower congestion, cleaner air, and healthier residents. Many local authorities across Greater Manchester have used government Covid funding to introduce temporary cycle lanes, encouraging cycle use above public transport given the initial concerns around covid transmission. The Bee Network will build on this permanently.

The network is partially inspired by Portland, Oregon. This American city is also known as one of the world’s greenest cities and invested heavily in cycling in the 1990s, while the rest of the USA was very much focused on the car for transport. Portland is now known for its young population and vibrant creative and tech industries, with its residents driving 20% less than the rest of the country. Manchester clearly hopes to emulate this success.

This pioneering Bee Network is expected to have a transformative effect across all Greater Manchester. The honeybee has long since emblemised Manchester, for its industrious and hardworking nature, but increasingly its connotations of biodiversity and environmentalism are coming to the forefront.

Manchester can also draw transport inspiration from closer to home. For journeys too long to make via bicycle and between areas not served by public transport, electric vehicles are a more sustainable solution than fossil-fuelled cars. Milton Keynes has 285 electric vehicle charging points, more than double the 136 available in Manchester. As charging points become more widespread, we would expect to see the number of electric vehicles in Manchester rise from the 13 per million people currently nearer to Milton Keynes’ 361 per million people.

View all of our latest Manchester Cross Sector research here.