Woven Image, leaders in design-led sustainable acoustic finishes for the built environment, has had its pioneering acoustic surface EchoPanel® independently certified Carbon Neutral by Climate Active.
Climate Active certification is one of the most rigorous in the world. This highly credible Australian government-backed carbon neutral certification for businesses allows specifiers to confidently choose products that are stringently tested and third party verified for their environmental impact. This certification covers all 7mm, 12mm, and 24mm EchoPanel acoustic panels and includes the precision cut designs Longitude, Latitude, Meridian, Empire, Palace, Ohm and Align.
EchoPanel is the original PET acoustic solution suitable for a range of commercial interior applications where both good design and acoustic performance are required. EchoPanel is made from 100% PET, a minimum of which is 60% post-consumer plastics, recycled to create beautiful and functional design-led sustainable acoustic solutions for architects, interior designers and end-users. Launched in 2004 as part of Woven Image’s commitment to product stewardship, EchoPanel is a responsible material design solution for waste minimisation and dematerialisation in commercial interior design.
EchoPanel achieves Global Green Tag (GreenRate level A), with the maximum Product Health Declaration Platinum Health Rate. EchoPanel is also Red List Free, meaning it doesn’t contain the materials and chemicals known to pose serious harm to human and environmental health. It has published ingredient transparency with Declare and low VOC emissions.
Woven Image’s commitment to transparency is demonstrated by the publication of a robust Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) with information on the material flows and environmental impacts during the lifecycle of EchoPanel. The EchoPanel EPD is recognised by international green building rating tools including BREEAM, WELL, LEED and GreenStar, helping specifiers to source stringently tested sustainable products with confidence.
By October 2023, a record total of 6586 tonnes of PET plastic had been recycled to create Woven Image’s range of acoustic products. This is the equivalent of 329 million 600ml plastic drinking bottles being diverted from waterways and landfill. This also equates to 7771 tonnes of carbon dioxide – to put that into perspective – that is 155 million balloons’ worth of carbon that has been prevented from entering the atmosphere.
Woven Image’s research and manufacturing facility also utilises solar energy, tripling its solar capacity in June 2023, drastically reducing its dependence on fossil-fuel derived grid energy. It now has the capacity to produce an average 360MWh of solar energy every year.
However, every product produces an impact, so those activities that cannot be eliminated are offset by carbon credit procurement, supporting projects that aim to reduce and remove emissions, to balance EchoPanel’s carbon emission status. Many of these projects provide a wider environmental and social impact beyond reducing carbon.
Woven Image has purchased and retired carbon credits through South Pole projects to offset the EchoPanel carbon inventory as part of the Climate Active Product certification process. One carbon credit means one tonne of carbon dioxide has been removed or prevented from entering the atmosphere. For radical transparency, each carbon credit is viewable by the public and has a unique serial number to prevent double counting. Not only this, but each project is unique, receiving a tailored methodology to appropriately measure its impact, subject to panel and public review.
The Global Warming potential of EchoPanel, cradle-to-gate, including international distribution, has been neutralised through positive initiatives that increase the environmental health of regions that EchoPanel has reached. Based on the environmental impact Woven Image has in various regions, it is supporting multiple South Pole projects, ranging from biodiversity to clean energy industries in Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, China and the USA, therefore, contributing to a greener and healthier planet.
