Oscar Acoustics reaches ‘Green Plaque’ status

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 Leader in acoustic finishes strengthens its eco-commitment

Rochester, Kent, 9 September 2024: Driven by a commitment to sustainability, Oscar Acoustics, Britain’s leading provider of architectural acoustic finishes, has surpassed landmark milestones in its green initiatives.

Following the recent opening of its new HQ, the ‘Oscar Innovation Centre’, has been awarded the prestigious ‘Green Plaque’ status, a third-party newbuild assessment that is independently peer-reviewed and administered by Lifecycle Design. This award is given to buildings that meet only the highest sustainability and environmental standards in the UK.

This follows the company’s achievement of an A+ EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating, placing the project in the top 0.35% of the most energy-efficient schemes in England, which independent assessors flagged as a ‘Net Zero emissions’ building.

Andrew Pook, Environmental Consultant from Green Plaque, said:

“Sometimes a project comes along that just ticks all the boxes. Though the Green Plaque assessment is not simply about describing exemplary developments, this one is really quite exciting and just shows what can be achieved when the commitment, enthusiasm, and expertise is there.”

This success builds on previous certifications, including achieving Carbon Neutral status through gold-standard assessor, Positive Planet, in 2023. This required a rigorous evaluation and highlights the company’s ongoing commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. Additionally, it reflects their investment in world-leading carbon-capture programmes to mitigate the impact of unavoidable emissions.

The certification required establishing science-based targets (SBTs) as well as gas emission measurements for Scope One, Two, and Three within the globally-recognised, sustainability assessment framework.

Ben Hancock, Managing Director of Oscar Acoustics, said:

“Our new A+ EPC-rated, Net Zero emissions HQ isn’t just a building; it’s a testament to our unwavering commitment to environmental excellence. We’ve built on our sustainability goals year-on-year so we’re extremely proud to be recognised at this level.

“This achievement underscores businesses’ vital role in going beyond standard practices to actively reduce their environmental footprint. It’s time for all companies to step up, take meaningful action, and lead the way in sustainable innovation.”

This milestone marks the latest step in the company’s ongoing sustainability journey, with goal-oriented objectives to achieve Net Zero by 2050.

Its market-leading acoustic products have also been used on some of the UK’s leading green construction projects, including 20 Water Street and the iconic 22 Bishopsgate, the first building in the UK to apply for the WELL Building Standard.

Made from fire-treated recycled paper, its SonaSpray range of acoustic decorative sprays help building designers to achieve acoustic excellence as well as a string of sustainable design and health certification systems. These include WELL, BREEAM, SKA, Living Building Challenge, and can add up to 17 points towards the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating of a project. SonaSpray also boasts GREENGUARD Gold certification – for optimal Indoor Air Quality.