To elevate the Manchester 2035 strategy in line with the city’s ambition to be a pan-organisation leader in the circular economy, the University of Manchester can draw on its city’s pioneering heritage of cultural innovation and urban sustainability while shaping a forward-looking, globally influential model.

1. Cultivating a Pan-Organisation Ecosystem

Manchester’s future as a global circular economy leader will require seamless collaboration between universities, local government, business, civil society, and cultural institutions. The University of Manchester can act as a convenor and integrator—bringing together data, research, innovation, and community perspectives to foster systems thinking. Inspired by initiatives such as the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Green City Region programme, the University can help co-ordinate circular solutions in energy, mobility, waste, construction, and digital infrastructure. This pan-organisational approach would reflect the city’s industrial and cooperative legacy—where change was built collaboratively.

2. Positioning Culture at the Heart of Circular Practice

Manchester’s cultural institutions have already been central to sustainability efforts—MAST (Manchester Arts Sustainability Team), for example, has demonstrated how collective carbon reduction efforts can emerge from the arts sector. The University can amplify this cultural leadership by embedding creative thinking into circular economy education and practice, producing graduates and research that reimagine reuse, design for disassembly, and foster circularity in unexpected sectors—from fashion to festivals, from architecture to AI.

3. Embedding Circular Principles into Campus and Curriculum

The University itself can be a living lab of the circular economy by embracing circular procurement, zero-waste strategies, and sustainable construction in all new developments by 2035. Alongside this, it should embed circular economy education across faculties, not just in science and engineering, but in business, law, social sciences, and the arts. This mirrors Manchester’s own hybrid identity—where industry met philosophy, and social justice walked hand-in-hand with invention.

4. Honouring the City’s Legacy of Regenerative Urbanism

The transformation of Hulme, Ancoats, and Castlefield show how Manchester has historically led in regenerative and community-focused urban redevelopment. These projects weren’t just about physical space—they were about democratic design, social cohesion, and sustainable living. The Manchester 2035 vision can learn from these by pushing for urban campuses that operate on circular principles: decentralised energy, closed-loop water systems, community repair spaces, vertical farms, and social hubs. This is urbanism that regenerates, not just sustains.

5. Leveraging Data and Science for Global Impact

The University’s expertise in advanced materials, biotechnology, AI, and environmental science gives it the tools to not only model circular systems, but to pilot them in real-world settings across Greater Manchester. From smart waste logistics to circular manufacturing, it can lead in creating scalable, evidence-based interventions. Furthermore, the university’s global reach provides the opportunity to influence urban sustainability policy and practice well beyond the UK.

6. Leading on Justice-Centred Circularity

Circularity must also be socially just. Manchester’s past includes not just invention, but movements for workers’ rights, suffrage, and social equity. The university must ensure its circular economy initiatives uplift marginalised communities, create green jobs, and ensure the transition is fair and inclusive. This reflects both Manchester’s values and the global imperative to unite ecological and social sustainability.

Conclusion

By drawing from its city’s deep well of cultural innovation, community action, and industrial ingenuity, the University of Manchester can position Manchester 2035 as the beating heart of a pan-organisational movement—making the city a global model for the circular economy. Not just a smart city, but a wise one: regenerating rather than consuming, and leading the world by example.

I think there might be political merit in using the phrase social care activist.

It isn’t intended to replace other descriptions such as ally or campaigner.

But I think it is a clear phrase for getting through to Health and Social Care officials and politicians the realities of social care campaigns such as for independent living.

I wonder if such policy people believe that health care is obviously political but social care is just a question of finding enough money.