Budweiser has teamed up with musician and environmental advocate Professor Green for Earth Day 2021 to raise awareness of the simple changes everyone can make to lead a greener life.
Taking place on April 22 every year, Earth Day is an internationally-recognised day of environmental awareness which aims to drive action and change. This year, Budweiser has singled out Manchester for praise for its sustainability work, as the city works towards its goal of becoming a net zero carbon city.
It comes as research by the brewery has uncovered a sense of “green guilt” in Manchester, meaning people are aware of the damaging affects their actions are having on the environment but are unsure how to help.
Budweiser’s study of 2,000 people has shown 47% of people living in Manchester feel guilty for not doing enough for the environment – with 41% having felt guilty for turning the heating on, and food waste being a major concern for them too.
In response, Budweiser and Professor Green have devised the “Pro Green Guide” containing practical ideas to incorporate into our lives and inspire better choices.
Make responsible choices regarding sustainable meat and fish
Be aware of packaging, say no to plastic and recycling where possible
Buy sustainable products
Fashion:
Go for quality and no quantity when buying clothes
Wash clothes at 30 degrees
At home:
Switch to a green energy provider
Choose appliances with high efficiency ratings
Professor Green – a.k.a. Stephen Manderson – told The Manc how these small changes show how easy it is to make a difference to our perceptions of “green guilt” – but also to reinforce the positive choices that we’re already making.
“[The guide] is mainly based around all the changes that I implemented in my own life in order to become a little more sustainable.
“It’s really easy to feel like it’s not significant and not going to make a difference because it’s just one person, but if that’s the attitude of everybody there will be no change.”
“I think this is the right way to do things because the worst thing to do is say to someone ‘you’re not doing enough’,” he explains.
“Imagine walking into someone’s life and going ‘right you need to change this this this this and this’, you’re probably going to be met with a ‘f*ck you’, aren’t you?”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CN7-RV4sTry/
So, Professor Green’s partnership with Budweiser is based on a mutual agreement of how important it is to approach huge topics in an accessible way.
Instead of telling people off and ramming data down necks so much that they lose interest, we should be praising people for the good that they are doing. With positive reinforcement they hope to encourage better choices in the future.
“Nobody’s perfect and it’s not something you can change overnight. I still forget to take my bags to the shops every once in a while, but it’s good to encourage people and show people that there are really small changes that are quite easy to implement,” he says.
“It’s easy to become defeatist and think it’s too little, too late – and it’s scary. You’ve got all these promises being made by governments and our prime minister in the last day in particular, he’s literally just putting lipstick on a pig. He’s dressing things up and it’s crazy.
“We have to be aware of how real this problem is and you have to understand that what someone says isn’t necessarily what’s happening. With the direction the planet is heading it’s important that people stand up and take notice.”
With the campaign slogan reading ‘green by name and green by nature’, Stephen was the perfect partner for Budweiser on the project. But this isn’t the first time Stephen has taken an interest in environmental activism. His awareness has stemmed from his childhood.
“I grew up a city kid – I grew up in Hackney, just down the road is the London borough of Tower Hamlets where my partner grew up and it’s where I used to spend a lot of time – my dad used to manage a shop. The statistic around there is something like 75% of children have a 5% reduction in lung capacity because of the illegal amount of pollution in the air. It’s terrible,” he explains.
“This is affecting adults as well but it’s affecting kids and having become a father you start to think more about the world that you leave behind.”
But Stephen is hopeful for the younger generations who are the open-minded and more aware ones driving action towards a better future.
Budweiser billboard on the Printworks
Here in Manchester, the city is working hard to become one of the greenest in the world. There are a number of initiatives and schemes like the Council’s ‘Our Manchester Strategy’ which hope to put Manchester on top by 2025.
In 2016, the Council promised it would be a 100% zero-carbon city by 2050 – but has since revised this date to 2038 since they’ve consistently met their targets.
On the campaign, Stephen says we need to have open and frank conversations on a local community level, as this is where most change occurs.
“The more aware people become the better the decisions they’ll make,” says Stephen. “With the platform that Budweiser has, the platform that I have, the platform that Manchester has – and The Manc – there’s a lot to be done and I think it’s a conversation that we have to keep having.”
“It’s the same with the work I do around mental health, it’s not a conversation we should stop having. It’s not a case of ‘okay everyone’s aware now, we can go back to how things were’, because how things were were not great.”
Sustainability is a hot topic for Budweiser who, since January 2021, have been brewing every can, bottle and keg of their beer using renewable energy from wind and solar sources.
The $1 billion dollar investment into renewables has meant that The Budweiser Brewing Group now generates enough renewable electricity in the UK to power the brewing operations of not only Budweiser but also Bud Light, Stella Artois, Corona and Becks.
So, what better way to toast Earth Day and our city’s sustainability achievements than with a zero-carbon beer.
Cheers, Manchester!
News
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Rochdale has officially been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
Taking over the reins from Bolton – which held the title in 2024 – and following in the footsteps of Stockport before that, which held the title in 2023, and even hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close, it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale.
Rochdale’s year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about? It’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region.
Bury was the inaugural title-holder 2020 and held onto it in 2021 too due to the COVID pandemic, before being followed by Stalybridge in 2022, Stockport in 2023, and of course, Bolton in the year just gone.
The title celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
This includes the popular free days out for families, an exciting new urban arts festival, two different food and drink festivals, a lantern parade, the Ignite Fire Festival, a Pride parade, and so much more.
You can also expect live music performances, a new people’s gallery, and even some major international collaborations that are yet to be announced.
Rochdale is taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024 / Credit: Rochdale Council
“Rochdale is a place with a rich cultural history, so it is great to name it Greater Manchester’s town of culture as it’s town hall and town centre enter a new era,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the borough was crowned this week.
“Rochdale submitted a fantastic bid for this which, was incredibly exciting and ambitious, while being firmly rooted in its local talent and deep history.
“We are definitely going to see the very best of what Rochdale has to offer over the next 12 months and people will come from far and wide to see it.”
Featured Image – Rochdale Council
News
The Lowry Theatre undergoes revamp following Biffa Award grant
Danny Jones
The Lowry in Salford Quays has had a bit of TLC with one of its biggest theatre spaces undergoing a pretty significant refurb this past month.
Following a well-deserved grant distributed via the Biffa Award, a multi-million-pound fund that helps to build communities and transform lives through community and environmental projects across the UK, the legendary local theatre received nearly £75k last year.
As a result, all 440 seats and various other aspects of The Lowry‘s Quays Theatre have now been renovated and refurbished.
The short story is, she looks more gorgeous than ever – see for yourself:
Being initially handed over in March 2024, The Lowry was awarded a total of £74,816 to reupholster seating in the venue’s Quays Theatre with new padding and fabric.
After almost 25 years of constant use as one of the most popular theatres in the North, the seats in the Quays Theatre were much in need of a refurb, and with work completed in December, Lowry visitors can now enjoy watching the venue’s wide range of theatre, dance, comedy and drama in comfort.
The work was actually carried out between July and December, with seats being carefully removed in batches and reupholstered off-site.
This was made possible due to the Biffa Award’s most recent ‘Cultural Facilities’ theme, which aims to improve recreation, interest and education, drawing funds from the UK government’s wider Landfill Communities Fund.
The old fabric and padding were disposed of sustainably, with lots of it being repurposed where possible to minimise waste and all the new materials used meet current guidance for safety and quality.
The Lowry’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Development, Gwen Oakden, said of the long overdue update:“It is so important that our audiences are able to enjoy our world-class performing arts programme in a comfortable and welcoming space.
“For many visitors to the Quays Theatre, this is their first experience of live performance – often to see a family show or as part of a school trip. We really want it to be the best experience possible, and for them to begin a lifelong relationship with Lowry.
“As a registered charity, without the generous support of this Biffa Award, for which we’re hugely grateful, we couldn’t have carried out this important work for our audiences.
As we head into our 25th Anniversary year, we are delighted to be able to welcome audiences and visitors can enjoy the beautiful and revived Quays Theatre.”
As for the Biffa side of things, Grants Manager Rachel Maidment added: “We are delighted to have supported The Lowry in refurbishing the Quays Theatre seating, ensuring audiences can continue to enjoy performances in comfort.
“Through Biffa’s Cultural Facilities theme, we fund projects that provide engaging and inspiring spaces for communities. The Lowry is a key cultural venue, and we’re proud that our funding, made possible through the government Fund, has helped enhance the experience for visitors for years to come.”
Like most Mancs, we love The Lowry, so here’s to hosting countless more theatregoers in the most comfortable seats possible for generations to come.
We’ve been to some brilliant performances around here of late.
Hannah Starkie -
23rd April 2021 
