This month Mainer and CarbonCentric relocated to the Renold Building on Manchester's former UMIST campus. A move driven less by the need for new desks and more by the chance to embed ourselves in a thriving network of businesses tackling environmental challenges and developing climate tech across the North West.
The new workspace is managed by Sustainable Ventures, which has built a genuine hub for organisations working on sustainability. For Mainer Associates, a built-environment sustainability consultancy, and CarbonCentric, its incubated carbon management platform for construction, being part of that community matters as much as the building itself.
"We wanted to be somewhere that reflected both what we do and where we want to go as businesses," Ben Wells Founder & Managing Director of Mainer Associates & CarbonCentric said.
"The community at Sustainable Ventures brings together a wide range of organisations with a shared purpose, while the Renold Building places us within one of Manchester's most exciting areas for innovation and collaboration. We see this as much more than an office move - it's an opportunity to become an active part of a growing sustainable business community."
The Renold Building sits within Sister, the innovation district created by Bruntwood SciTech and the University of Manchester.
Why community matters
The Renold Building sits within Sister, the innovation district created by Bruntwood SciTech and the University of Manchester, connecting academic research, sustainability expertise and innovative businesses in one place. For Mainer Associates and CarbonCentric, that proximity creates real opportunities: to exchange knowledge, form partnerships, and develop ideas alongside other organisations working towards the same goals.
Both businesses plan to lean into this fully, hosting CPD sessions, technical talks and networking events for clients, contractors, consultants and product manufacturers across the construction and property sectors. The intent isn't just to occupy space in the building, but to actively contribute to it - sharing practical knowledge and building relationships with the wider community working on the transition to a lower-carbon built environment.
A shared philosophy, reflected in the details
Even the office furniture reflects this collaborative, resource-conscious approach.
It's supplied by NORNORM on a circular rental model rather than being bought outright - furniture is refurbished and recirculated as needs change, echoing the same principles Mainer Associates apply in their own work: measuring impact, making better use of resources, and moving away from linear consumption.
Putting the work on display, together
The move has also given CarbonCentric a live setting to demonstrate its new operational energy module, with energy monitors installed throughout the Sustainable Ventures space feeding real data into the platform.
Alongside CarbonCentric's existing portfolio dashboard - which lets clients and project teams compare performance across properties and benchmark against the wider industry - this turns the office into a working example of what's possible when embodied carbon, project data and operational energy information come together.
It's a fitting way to mark the move: not just new premises, but a deeper connection to the community of businesses across the North West pushing the built environment towards a more sustainable future.
Want to see it in action? Come see us in the new space.
How Mainer can help
At Mainer, we help developers, housing providers, contractors, local authorities and asset owners use Whole Life Carbon Assessments to support better project outcomes.
Our work helps clients:
Strengthen planning submissions
Compare design and procurement options
Identify carbon hotspots
Support ESG and net zero reporting
Reduce uncertainty across the project life cycle
Whole Life Carbon Assessments are not just about understanding emissions.
They are about reducing risk, improving decisions and creating a stronger evidence base for the future.
Because when carbon is measured properly, it becomes more than a reporting requirement.
It becomes a tool for better project delivery.
Please click below for more information on Mainer’s Services:
LCA
EIA
BREEAM
Building Physics
Fitwel
Scope 3 Emissions
Planning Statements
ESG