Vent-Axia and AO Win BEAMA Net Zero Collaboration Award

04-12-2024

Market-leading British ventilation manufacturer, Vent-Axia, and AO, the UK’s most trusted electricals retailer, are celebrating winning the prestigious BEAMA Net Zero Collaboration Award. Recognising outstanding partnerships that contribute to advancing Net Zero, sustainability, and circularity within the electrical industry, the companies scooped the accolade for their pioneering initiative transforming AO’s recycled fridge plastic into high-quality Vent-Axia ventilation products. This innovative partnership, recognised on 27 November at the BEAMA Annual Lunch in London, represents a significant step in sustainable UK manufacturing.

Vent-Axia aims to be Net Zero by 2040, a decade ahead of the Government’s target. By the end of FY2025, the company targets 70% of its sales revenue to be from low-carbon products and 90% of the plastic used in its own manufacturing to be from recycled sources. This manufacturing transformation involves transitioning from virgin to recycled plastic. To achieve this, it was vital to collaborate with a trusted recycler of plastics that could provide, the quality, consistency, and volume Vent-Axia needed, which was where AO stepped in.

AO and Vent-Axia’s collaboration has grown significantly over the last three years, accelerating in the last 12 months. The growth has been propelled by a mutual desire to drive sustainability by using high-quality post-consumer plastics in long-life products. Vent-Axia has worked with AO to create a wide range of ventilation products using recycled, rather than virgin plastic, transforming ventilation manufacturing. AO has supplied recycled High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) and ABS from fridges it collects and recycles.

“We’re thrilled Vent-Axia has won BEAMA’s Net Zero Collaboration Award for our innovative partnership with AO. Our commitment to sustainability is instilled across the organisation and we are constantly challenging our approach to the manufacturing and supply of products to minimise our impact on the environment. Through this collaboration, we are tackling plastic waste by recycling materials from old fridges to create the plastic components used in our ventilation products. This initiative showcases the impact of working together to drive positive change and accelerate progress toward reaching Net-Zero, helping us improve indoor air sustainably,” said Joseph Brawn, Product and Marketing Director at Vent-Axia.

“We're proud to have won BEAMA's Net Zero Collaboration Award, for our work with Vent-Axia to create ventilation products from our recycled fridge plastic. As one of the only retailers in the UK with our own recycling plant, AO takes responsibility for the entire recycling process, from start to finish, and we’re proud to be producing high-quality plastic that can be easily used in new products. The circular economy is really at the forefront of our business ambitions and our investment in plastic is key to fulfilling our long-term goals,” said Dave Ware, director of commercial, AO Recycling.

Both companies have invested heavily in R&D; process refinement; tooling; personnel; testing equipment; and process adjustments to transition from virgin to recycled material. By converting existing processes to incorporate recycled materials, Vent-Axia demonstrates its sustainability commitment and has a lower environmental footprint overall. Meanwhile, AO is increasing its recycling, reducing the resources used, and developing its circular economy with the help of Vent-Axia and Ultra-Polymers.

The results of the collaboration have been transformative. Vent-Axia’s recycled plastic fans have garnered strong customer approval, demonstrating that sustainability does not mean compromising quality. This transition is not just about meeting targets; it’s about exceeding industry standards and setting new benchmarks for sustainable UK manufacturing. Manufacturing with recycled plastic has reduced the carbon footprint of Vent-Axia’s products by up to 40%, while AO has successfully kept its recycled materials within the circular economy in the UK, further contributing to a reduction in resources used and carbon emissions.

The collaboration between Vent-Axia and AO is set to expand, with plans to increase the volume of recycled plastic use, extend the colour range of materials, and further leverage AO’s circular economy model. New initiatives include trialling re-processing returned ventilation products, recycling extrusion and moulding waste, and re-using industrial cut-offs.

For further information on all products and services offered by Vent-Axia telephone +44 (0)344 856 0590 or visit www.vent-axia.com.