No Time to Waste - marking World Sustainability Day
28 Oct 2025
We’re proud to announce the launch of our new sustainability push, No Time to Waste, ahead of World Sustainability Day tomorrow, furthering our commitment to a greener future. As part of it, we are also launching our brand new sustainable travel app, CommuteUoM.
Sustainability at Manchester: Leading by Example
We are proud to continue to lead the way in environmental responsibility. On top of our new campaign, we recently had the energisation of the Medebridge Solar Farm in Essex, which now powers up to 65% of our campus electricity with clean, renewable energy.
This initiative is part of a 10-year Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) and will reduce our carbon emissions by 12,000 tonnes of CO₂e annually—enough to power 21,000 homes.
Other sustainability highlights include:
- Zero carbon goal by 2038
- Biodiversity net gain through native planting around the solar farm
- Global top 10 ranking in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings for social and environmental impact
No Time to Waste: Earn Rewards for Sustainable Actions
Free for all colleagues and students, No Time to Waste is our new sustainability platform that makes it easy and rewarding to build sustainable habits.
By logging everyday actions like recycling, eating plant-based meals, shopping second-hand, or attending wellbeing events, you’ll earn Green Points that can lead to monthly prizes.
Top prizes
Each month, the top point earners win one of eight £20 vouchers from local and ethical vendors including Campus Coffee Shop, Eighth Day Eco-Shop & Cafe, Hulme Garden Centre, and more.
Every six months, teams compete to donate £240 to one of seven charity partners, including Wood Street Mission, City of Trees, and Mustard Tree.
Sign up today though the official website and receive 1,250 Green Points just for joining. The app can also be downloaded on the App Store and Google Play store.
CommuteUoM: Earn Points with Sustainable Travel, Powered by STAXY
With travel making up a significant part of our sustainability footprint, we’re also excited to launch CommuteUoM – which can help you Green Points. The travel app has been designed to make low-carbon commuting easier and your journeys cheaper and greener.
Powered by STAXY, CommuteUoM helps you:
- Carpool safely with verified drivers and live journey tracking
- Plan public transport routes and book train tickets with split-fare savings
- Join walking, wheeling, or cycling groups for active travel
- Earn rewards and climb leaderboards for choosing greener travel options
To find out more about CommuteUoM, watch our video.
This initiative supports our University Travel Plan goals, including reducing car commuting amongst colleagues and students, halving aviation emissions from business trip, and transitioning our fleet to electric vehicles by 2030.
Don’t miss out on current travel perks:
- Free bus travel on route 147 between Piccadilly and campus
- Free tram trial for regular staff car park users
- Free bike hire minutes, discounted locks, and cycling courses
- Our Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice schemes