When it comes to climate action, the higher education sector faces a unique set of challenges: diverse building portfolios that often include listed buildings; complex and cross-departmental procurement procedures; the need to maintain special facilities and conditions for research; long planning horizons; and the need for student engagement. Scope 3 – those indirect emissions from purchased goods and services, including staff and student travel, and waste – are particularly challenging to tackle.
Manchester Metropolitan University had already made substantial progress in measuring and managing its Scope 3 emissions – for example, by increasing active travel and taking a whole life costing approach to construction projects. It sought support to better understand the sources of all its Scope 3 emissions and identify concrete actions to reduce them.
Eunomia began by conducting desk-based research to define a Scope 3 boundary around the entities over which the University has operational influence. We then developed a detailed carbon footprint. This involved identifying high-impact goods and services for prioritised action, along with data requirements and collection processes, and calculating a Scope 3 emissions baseline using our bespoke Estate Decarbonisation Model (EDeM).
We then used EdeM to develop feasible yet ambitious options for achieving net zero via Scope 3 decarbonisation pathways that comply with Science Based Targets initiative requirements. To prioritise potential pathways, we engaged with stakeholders across the University, gathering information and perspectives to inform multi-criteria analysis. We used our Spend Prioritisation Tool to identify key contributors to emissions from procurement and focus decarbonisation actions on these.
Through a collaborative approach involving further stakeholder engagement, Eunomia developed a high-level net zero strategy and detailed Scope 3 climate action plan focusing on these priority categories, including travel, procurement, and capital projects. Drawing from our comprehensive Carbon Action Library, built up through numerous similar projects for clients across all sectors, we tailored the climate action plan to the University’s specific needs and context.
We also developed key spend category guidance to support responsible sourcing. The Scope 3 assessment, the decarbonisation prioritisation exercise, and the climate action plan Eunomia created have provided Manchester Metropolitan University with an evidence-based roadmap to achieving its target of net zero Scope 3 emissions by 2038.