Sustainable Acoustics Supports WWF's Earth Hour
Here at Sustainable Acoustics we love this planet and everything that lives upon it, and also the wonderful diversity of sounds – natural sounds, euphonic sounds (those which are pleasing to hear) and the sound communities make when people get together to celebrate what makes life on earth special.
WWF's Earth Hour started in Australia in 2007, as a mass participation event to raise awareness about climate change. From here it grew. WWF’s Earth Hour has grown to become the world's largest grassroots movement for the environment.
This year we are going to support Earth Hour as a business and play our part in sparking a new conversation on nature and the unique diversity of life we share our home with. As part of supporting Earth Hour 2019 we will tell our staff, clients and peers why we think nature matters!
Nature is vital for health, well-being and prosperity and climate change is increasingly becoming an urgent issue where we are seeing the loss of wildlife and natural resources at ever faster rates. Humans depend on these resources in nearly everything we do, for food, energy, clean air, materials for our goods, our homes, for our schools, our companies and our infrastructure. Wildlife also generates natural sounds which play a vital role in connecting us to our surroundings and supports our well-being and our sense of humanity.
We want to use Earth Hour as a platform to launch a discussion, inspire and show others how acoustics can help connect people with their surroundings, with nature and with each other. We've also been working on how this can be better described across the industry. There is no single word to describe sound that represents positive or valued sound, as perceived by the listener. That is to say, sound which has some value to the soundscape or human health and well-being. This “euphony”, or pleasant soundscape, is important for humankind if we are to truly value and retain our connection with nature, which is essential to support our well-being in an increasingly urbanised world. If you want to know more about this we’ve written a paper about it.
We also want to start big conversations about how acoustics can play a more prominent part in delivering green buildings and cities that thrive for people and nature. A challenge indeed, especially when we consider global populations will increasingly be based in cities, living more closely together and disconnecting from the seasonal rhythms of the natural world. Acoustics has a vital part to play in screening unwanted noise and amplifying euphonic sounds in the development of sustainable cities which inspire inhabitants to reconnect with nature.
We are playing our part in enabling people to have a better connection to wildlife, natural sounds and euphonic soundscapes, in our towns and cities, whilst still being protected from noise which causes a nuisance and damages health and well-being. We need to implement design solutions so we can do both simultaneously. This is vital if we are to build truly smart buildings and sustainable urban spaces so we can continue to share our beautiful planet with such a diverse range of nature and secure this for future generations.
Watch this space for more information about how Sustainable Acoustics are supporting Earth Hour 2019 and to hear our narrative about why we think nature matters.
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Sustainable Acoustics has a sustainability programme which includes reducing its environmental impacts from its office operations and driving forward thought leadership in the field of acoustics. As part of our sustainability programme we support key events, such as WWF’s Earth Hour and promote sustainability to staff and our clients. We are also a member of networks and organisations which work for change, such as the UK Green Building Council. UK Green Building’s mission is to radically improve the sustainability of the built environment, by transforming the way it is planned, designed, constructed, maintained and operated. Buildings need to be sustainable. Our changing climate means we must reshape the way we grow and build.