On the evening of 22nd February 2024, Sustainable Futures collaborated with the Social Responsibility team in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at The University of Manchester to kick off the Green Together series of events at Manchester Central Library.

Setting up for the Green Together evening on 22 February at Manchester Central Library

We invited a broad range of Early Career Researchers from across the University to present their research across a vast array of sustainability topics to an engaged audience made up of members of the general public. The purpose of this event was to engage with members of the Greater Manchester community that we do not usually reach, and that we triumphed in.

Dr Kathryn Downey, Social Responsibility Officer for the FSE Social Responsibility Team, opened the evening

On the night we were joined by around 25 engaged local community members in the audience who were all prepared to absorb and discuss sustainability issues across a great range of really engaging interdisciplinary research presentations:

  • Dr Christina Picken, Research Associate at the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub, presented on the sustainability of plastics looking at the life cycle assessment to give an overall comparison to alternatives.
  • Dr Lois Pennington, Post Doctoral Fellow at Tyndall Centre Manchester, presented on the hidden sustainability issue of airline waste.
  • Alexandra Barrueta Sacksteder, PhD researcher at the Alliance Manchester Business School, presented on the concept 'Beyond Net Zero' in the climate crisis fight.
  • Hannah Charles, PhD researcher in the School of Environment, Education and Development, presented on the challenges and opportunities for retrofitting social housing in the UK.
  • Thomas Van Laake, PhD researcher in the School of Environment, Education and Development, presented on Green Cities and Cycling Infrastructure comparisons in Manchester, Mexico City and Toronto.

Take a look below at the Senior PhD researchers and Post Doctoral Research Associates/Fellows presenting at Manchester Central Library.

Early Career Researchers from The University of Manchester presenting their interdisciplinary sustainability research at the Green Together launch evening

The session was concluded by a buzz of networking and further discussions about the breadth of research discussed.

A snapshot of some of our researchers engaging with the general public about their research in sustainability.

If you want to find out more about what we got up to on 22nd February as part of the Green Together series of events, take a look at our 'come with us' video. Make sure you sign up to the Sustainable Futures newsletter to not miss out on future opportunities and events like this one.