MERCi places environmental sustainability at the core of all its activities and strives to have a positive impact on our local and global environment. This is done through practical measures like making Bridge-5 Mill an energy efficient building; training tools like the Greening Your Organisation manual; educational facilities like the You Are Here exhibition and working with others to influence the regeneration of our city through the Environment Network for Manchester.
Greening Your Organisation Manual and Training
MERCi has developed a manual and training to applying an effective environmental policy, designed for voluntary groups, small businesses and social enterprises. This user-friendly manual is part of a series of tools to enable groups to become greener. It is unique to Manchester with Manchester facts and figures, local contacts, Manchester-based experts, and where possible, highlighted Manchester green products and services.
" When faced with the current state of the environment, it can be overwhelming trying to think of ways to lessen your own impact on global problems. This step-by-step manual provides very practical ways of meeting the obligations laid out in the environmental policy at the back of the booklet ".
The manual can be downloaded from www.imaginemanchester.org.uk and tailored training can be provided by MERCi staff for organisations and individuals.
Greening Manchester
Manchester City Council in May 2004 proposed to put in place policies, targets and actions which over time would result in Manchester being able to justify, against internationally recognised benchmarks, the title "Britain's Greenest City"
They aim to launch a project to engage Manchester residents, businesses, schools and colleges, trade unions, environmental campaigners and media in a campaign to promote Manchester's aspirations to become "Britain's Greenest City", with an allocation of £200,000 in 2005/6 to enable the initial research, policy, partnership and capacity development.
MERCi through the Environment Network for Manchester is working to provide a set of defining principles of what a truly green city is and contribute to the development of appropriate Green City Performance Indicators to ensure the process benefits the environment and the residents of Manchester significantly.