Our mission
We are proud to be the world’s first Carbon Literate museum and environmental action and social justice drives all of our work.
Building a more sustainable world requires a commitment to long-term thinking and evolution, and with over 130 years’ history as one of Manchester’s best-loved cultural venues we intend to sustain and adapt our work to continue having impact for many generations to come; supporting our communities in moving towards the climate and ecological change we want to see for Manchester and beyond.
Our unique convening power as a free-to-access public space can provide common ground and bring people together. Well-known and loved collections together with collaborative research programmes may help build understanding of how humanity’s future is wholly intertwined with the rest of our natural world. We look to inspire people and nurture their capacity to take action in the here and now.
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What we do
We develop programming, events and exhibitions with our communities which explore local and global social and environmental issues from many perspectives, catalysing public conversations about the climate and ecological crisis.
We provide a non-judgemental space for people to practice expressing their views. In place of polarised and short-term perspectives, we aim to support people to find the confidence to speak out for a long-term sustainable future and take part in activism for life on earth.
How we do it
Our commitment to reducing our environmental impacts underpins all that we do. The effects of the climate and ecological crisis pose a very real threat to museum collections and our ability to deliver our mission. We will continue to adapt our ways of working to prioritise sustainable decision making and practices.
We are committed to playing our part to reach Greater Manchester’s target of zero carbon by 2038. Working alongside the university’s cultural institutions, we have a key role within The University of Manchester environmental sustainability strategy.