Manchester FoE campaigns in many different areas. We have campaigned on the Big Ask, helping to get a binding law for the UK to reduce emissions, for damaging EU biofuels targets to be scrapped, among many other things. Our current campaigns fit broadly into campaign themes, although under each theme there may be several campaigns! Click the links for more information on them:
| climate | food | transport | waste | other |
Food
Do you want to help make Manchester a leading city in the fight against climate change? If you do then help our city by joining the campaign to change the way we eat.
Much of the meat we consume – including British meat – is from animals raised on feed grown in areas where rainforest has been cleared. So just by eating a rainforest-free diet you’ll be helping to save our beautiful planet. By eating local food, and eating less poor quality meat, we are becoming part of a movement to prevent climate change.
Our Meat Free Monday campaign is aiming to work in Manchester to reduce the consumption of poor quality meat, and encouraging the city to start eating local food. Go to the Meat Free Monday page for an overview of the campaign.
At present much of the food we eat is imported from other parts of the world, but living on local food would benefit the communities around us – as well as reducing the air miles of our food. It’s also cheaper to eat local, but the goverment gives £700 million of taxpayers money to big food businesses, which is why it is cheaper for shops to import food instead.
Contact rachel@manchesterfoe.org.uk or al@manchesterfoe.org.uk for more information.
Climate Change
This climate is changing. But it’s not too late to do something about it. What we do over the next five years will make a real difference to our lives and the lives of future generations.
Here at Manchester Friends of the Earth, we’re working locally to support people who want to live more sustainably, and to encourage businesses and other organisations to Manchester’s climate change plan, A Certain Future.
We’re also keeping up the pressure on politicians to ensure the Government lives up to its pledge to be the greenest ever, setting us on a path to a clean, safe, nuclear-free energy supply and taking the lead in securing a strong and fair international climate deal.
Transport
A shift towards more sustainable modes of transport is good news for our health, communities and the environment, both locally and globally. It is a vital step in reducing the emissions causing climate change. Manchester Friends of the Earth campaigns for cycling, walking, alternative fuels and quality public transport to be at the heart of policies on how we get around. We also believe that it is important to reduce the need to travel by, for example, promoting the use and development of local shops and services.
Our main activities:
- Love Your Bike (our cycling campaign)
- Bike Friday (monthly cycle to work rides)
- Bike Fabulous (cycle in style)
Waste
Friends of the Earth’s campaigning brought about the Household Waste Recycling Act in 2003 which means that we can now recycle from our doorsteps. But the type of materials that we can recycle depends on our postcode.
The latest figures from Defra (2009/10) show that Greater Manchester currently recycle 33.8% of it’s waste – we have a long way to go to catch up to the best councils across Europe that recycle 70%+.
We have held a number of actions to increase awareness and to encourage members of the public to take action on waste issues:
