University of Manchester to measure social impact and sustainability

A social value reporting tool, Impact Reporting, has partnered with the University of Manchester to measure sustainability within the University.

Impact Reporting was established in 2017 to streamline the way businesses capture, monitor and produce real-time reports based on their social and environmental impacts.

The tool will record and analyse ‘10,000 Actions,’ the UK’s largest environmental sustainability initiative in higher education.

10,000 Actions aims to provide all members of staff at the university with the opportunity to engage in a programme of learning and positive action on sustainability by helping them to develop a personal sustainability action plan.

Lucy Millard, environmental sustainability manager at the University of Manchester said: ‘We wanted to work with Impact because of our involvement in its inception and how well the tool aligns with our 10,000 Actions initiative.’

‘With previous systems, we noticed staff were committing to actions but not recording them when they were completed.’

‘Impact has helped motivate staff and we’re now able to measure the effect of our actions on the environment and society.’

Chris Farrel, managing director of Impact said: ‘The University of Manchester has a global reputation of being at the forefront of research.’

‘They are taking sustainability seriously and chose to partner with us to measure their pro-social and environmental initiatives because of our historical connection and expertise.’

‘We will assist them in analysing their ground-breaking sustainability programme, 10,000 Actions, and help benchmark its social value and environmental activities against other institutions.’

Since February 2019, the University of Manchester has recorded thousands of actions, such as staff cycling to work, improved recycling rates, responsible energy consumption and the integration of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into lectures.

In addition to 10,000 Actions, the University of Manchester has also participated in the national Green Impact scheme to help staff improve their environmental performance in the workplace. This is done by progressing through an online toolkit of actions and implementing as many as possible.

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