Behind the scenes with the Autex Acoustics® sustainability team

Autex Acoustics® places a high value on sustainability, integrating it into every aspect of their operations.

Recognising their responsibility to positively impact the environment, people, and future generations, the company has embedded sustainable practices across the board. To support these efforts, Autex Acoustics has an in-house sustainability team dedicated to upholding environmental standards and driving innovation in their product offerings.

Leading this team are Zoë Delano, Sustainability Lead, and Janae Featherstone, Sustainability Advisor. Both take pride in their work, striving to help the company meet its sustainability objectives.

“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.

The team’s daily activities are varied. “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 efforts, the team focuses on five key pillars: climate action, circularity, wellbeing and buildings, sustainable supply chain, and purpose and profit. These pillars help them research solutions for challenges faced by both Autex Acoustics and the broader industry.

“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.