Sustainable Display Boards: What Recycled PET Acoustic Panels Mean for Procurement

by Paul Howe

Ten years ago, a noticeboard or acoustic panel tender came down to price and spec. That's changed. Under the Procurement Act 2023, contracting authorities are increasingly required to evaluate the Most Advantageous Tender rather than simply the cheapest - which means environmental and social value criteria now carry real weight in school, MAT and public sector purchasing decisions, not just compliance box-ticking.

For anyone specifying display boards, that raises a practical question: what does "sustainable" actually mean for a product like an acoustic panel or noticeboard and how do you evidence it in a tender or quote request?

Why Sustainability Now Shows Up in Display Board Tenders

Multi-academy trusts, local authorities and public sector estates teams are under growing pressure to demonstrate environmental responsibility across every purchasing category - not just the obvious ones like energy or catering. Facilities and fit-out spend, including display boards and acoustic treatments, increasingly gets asked about too: What's it made from? Where's it manufactured? How long does it last?

If your current supplier can't answer those questions clearly, it's worth asking before the next tender cycle rather than during it.

What "Recycled PET Acoustic Panels" Actually Means

PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is the plastic used in everyday items like drinks bottles. Recycled PET acoustic panels are manufactured from this reclaimed material, rather than virgin plastic or traditional foam and wood-fibre cores and pressed into a felt-like panel that delivers genuine acoustic performance.

Our acoustic panels are manufactured from 100% recycled PET and are tested to BS EN ISO 11654 Class E, the recognised UK standard for sound absorption performance. That means you're not trading acoustic performance for sustainability credentials - the panel has to perform first and the recycled content is built into that performance rather than bolted on afterwards.

UK Manufacturing and Why It Matters

Every board is manufactured in-house at our facility in Bolton, Greater Manchester. For buyers weighing environmental criteria, that matters for two practical reasons:

  • Shorter supply chains mean fewer transport miles between manufacture and installation compared with imported alternatives.
  • Direct traceability - because we manufacture rather than import and rebrand, we can speak accurately to material sourcing and production process, which matters when a tender asks for supporting evidence rather than a marketing claim.

Durability as a Sustainability Metric

The most sustainable product is often the one you don't have to replace. Fire-rated, well-manufactured display boards are designed for long-term, high-use environments like school corridors and public buildings, which means fewer replacement cycles and less material going to landfill over the lifetime of a building - a point worth making explicitly in any tender response focused on whole-life value rather than just unit price.

How to Reference This in a Tender or Quote Request

If you're completing a tender return or internal procurement form that asks about environmental credentials, it's worth requesting the following directly from your supplier before you submit:

  • Confirmation of recycled material content and percentage
  • Acoustic or fire performance test certification (e.g. BS EN ISO 11654, BS EN 13501)
  • Confirmation of manufacturing location
  • Any formal environmental certifications the supplier holds

Adboards holds ESPO and Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework accreditation, which can simplify the compliance side of a school or public sector purchase considerably - worth checking before running a full tender exercise for a purchase that may already sit within an approved route.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Adboards acoustic panels genuinely recycled, or just recyclable? Our acoustic panels are manufactured from 100% recycled PET material - the recycled content is in the product itself, not just a future disposal option.

Do you provide documentation for tenders and procurement evaluations? Yes - we can supply material specification and test certification to support tender submissions and procurement evaluations. Get in touch with your project details and we'll provide what's needed.

What does BS EN ISO 11654 Class E mean? It's the British/European standard used to rate the sound absorption performance of acoustic materials. Class E indicates a recognised level of measurable acoustic performance, tested independently rather than self-assessed.

Specifying for an Upcoming Tender or Project

If sustainability criteria are part of an upcoming school, MAT or public sector project, request a quote and let us know what documentation you need - we'll put the full spec pack together for your procurement return.

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