Behind the scenes with the Autex Acoustics® sustainability team
Believing it is their responsibility to operate sustainably to ensure a positive impact on the environment, people, and the next generation, Autex Acoustics has incorporated sustainable practices into every element of the business. In order to do this effectively, Autex Acoustics has a dedicated in-house sustainability team who maintain the company’s commitment to environmental standards and look for ways to innovate and develop their product range.
Zoë Delano, Sustainability Lead, and Janae Featherstone, Sustainability Advisor, take pride in their roles in this team, working hard to help the business achieve their sustainability goals.
“I am proud of the time and resources Autex Acoustics has been willing to invest in sustainability. Becoming a sustainable business does not happen overnight, it requires a considerable amount of investment and buy in from all parties. We go above and beyond the legal requirements for a business of our nature and aim to have a positive impact on the wider industry, encouraging others to follow in our footsteps,” Janae says.
Day to day, the team’s work can look incredibly different. “Our time might be spent working alongside design on innovative sustainable material and product system developments one day to understanding our company-wide energy usage, or emissions in our supply chain the next,” Zoë explains.
To guide their work, the team have selected five key pillars: climate action, circularity, wellbeing and buildings, sustainable supply chain, and purpose and profit. Using these pillars, the team is able to research and innovate solutions to problems faced by both Autex Acoustics and the industry as a whole.
“We want to be informed and confident in the materials we are using, advocating for their adoption, and leading the industry toward better alternatives. I’ve seen a shift in our mindset and aspirations over the years. While we’ve always been ambitious in our environmental goals, we’re now envisaging what our business and industry looks like beyond sustainability, and towards regenerative systems; how businesses might exist reciprocally with nature,” Zoë says.
“My main driver is the desire to see positive change in the world. Working in the sustainability industry can often be disheartening, we need to see big changes happening globally to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss. However, at Autex Acoustics we tackle these issues through a lens of hope and a desire to change both the system and people’s attitudes. Working on sustainability initiatives within the construction industry is particularly rewarding because the scope for positive change is so vast,” Janae adds.
