City’s commitment to environmental sustainability forms a key part of its year-round work across the Etihad Campus with the Club’s stated aim to become net zero by 2030.
Measures adopted over the past decade include zero waste to landfill, rainwater harvesting, enhanced biodiversity, use of local suppliers and service providers and encouraging the use of sustainable travel.
As part of the Club’s sustainable travel work this season, shuttle bus trials took place at the Club’s home match against Chelsea with transport provided to and from the stadium from hubs in the city centre.
The Club also announced that 240 new cycle stands would be installed at the Etihad Campus, and that works have commenced on improving the accessibility, wayfinding for walking and cycling routes between the Etihad Campus and Manchester city centre.
Through a major, collective effort of staff across the Club, the consumption of both gas and electricity reduced by around 6% in the year to May 2023. Meanwhile, the Club continued to procure electricity that is 100% renewable.
In addition, new LED lighting at City Football Academy and changes to lighting timings helped reduce another circa 120,000kwh, taking the Club’s total reduction (per annum) to around 2 million kwh since 2019.
Waste handling was down by more than 15% year-on-year and more than 80% of the Club’s water continues to be recycled through a series of rainwater attenuation systems.
Source: Manchester City
The Club’s ecology and biodiversity programme took a huge step forward over the course of the season. New wildlife habitats were created supporting bees, butterflies, moths and beetles. Wetlands and ponds were created to both absorb carbon and create new habitats for dragonflies, crane fly and similar species.
During the summer months, an entirely new team joined City Football Academy in the form of 11 large bee posts. The posts – which are made from Douglas Fir, sourced from a ‘Grown in Britain’ certified independent sawmill, and manufactured by a small independent North West-based business – are designed to provide a nesting habitat for a variety of solitary bee species, solitary wasps and other invertebrates.
Before installation, 29 different species of bee had already been recorded at City Football Academy and it is hoped the new habitat initiative will boost the number of species recorded on site.
A survey conducted after just six weeks revealed that several different bee species had already nested in the posts, including leafcutter bees, mason bees and tiny, yellow-faced bees, which are not much larger than a grain of rice.
