Armstrong Fluid Technology Presented with Queens Award for Sustainability

The presentation ceremony took place at Armstrong's state-of-the-art facility in Manchester, involving a tour of the premises followed by a presentation on Armstrong's award winning sustainability initiatives. This was followed by a speech by the Deputy Lieutenant and the receipt of the coveted scroll and crystal by Steve Cooper (Director of Sustainable Design, Armstrong Fluid Technology).

Now in its 55th year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the country, with recognised businesses able to bear the esteemed Queen’s Awards emblem for the next five years. Of the exclusive list of just 205 organisations recognised this year, Armstrong Fluid Technology was one of only 17 to receive an award in the Sustainable Development category.

Armstrong Fluid Technology is an international company, with eight manufacturing facilities on four continents. In the UK, the company recently expanded its presence, relocating its operations in the West Midlands to a larger production facility in Droitwich. With advanced solutions that leverage edge computing, IoT, machine learning, digital twin technology and demand-based control, Armstrong provides and protects efficiency in building mechanical systems, approaching energy optimisation as a whole-building challenge and advancing the practice of full lifecycle management. Focusing on HVAC, plumbing, gas transmission and fire safety applications, Armstrong provide energy-efficient, cost-effective solutions and performance management services that deliver the lowest installed cost, lowest operational cost and lowest life-cost to applications all around the world.

In 2012, the company brought together its sustainability efforts to form a single global programme, called Planet Proposition, to drive progress towards more ambitious environmental targets. The sustainability improvements, made through the Planet Proposition programme and led by Steve Cooper, Sustainable Design Director, have now been recognised with the presentation of the UK’s most prestigious business award.

Armstrong's Planet Proposition is based on three pillars: Solutions, Environment and Community. Armstrong HVAC solutions enable customers to make significant improvements in the environmental performance of buildings. Armstrong has also made considerable reductions to its own environmental impact with ambitious internal targets to reduce energy use worldwide. At Armstrong’s Manchester factory, a 250 kilowatt peak (kWp) solar PV system has been installed for on-site energy generation. The solar photovoltaic panels, covering a roof area of 1,550m², provided 40% of the plant’s total electricity requirement in 2020. Other environmental initiatives undertaken include the implementation of LED lighting with automatic sensors, electric car charging points, water recycling in test facilities and a widespread waste-sorting programme to reduce waste-to-landfill.  Armstrong also carries out community initiatives at its sites throughout the world, including working with schools to promote sustainability, and fundraising for local charities. A particularly popular project in the UK has involved the creation of a vegetable garden in Manchester. Produce from the garden is sold throughout the year to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

Steve Cooper of Armstrong commented, “Sustainability involves a number of small changes that, when combined, make a big difference. This award is in recognition of the collaborative efforts of everyone at Armstrong since 2012. We all play our part, whether that involves the products we create, to help our customers save energy and CO₂, or the way we develop our buildings and carry out our operations. Initiatives such as installing solar panels and implementing processes at our plants to manufacture more sustainably are important. But so are simple day-to-day measures such as individuals switching off lights and recycling to reduce waste.  It’s been a real team effort and we are extremely proud of our achievement. Having reached this important milestone, we are now setting our sights on the next key sustainability goal, as we strive for all of our plants around the globe to be Net Zero by 2030.”