The National Engineering Policy Centre, led by the Royal Academy of Engineering, has convened a diverse range of experts to provide agile and continued advice to government to help address the long-term global threat posed by climate change and support its goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This will include recommendations for a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that puts the UK on track for net zero.

The May/June 2020 issue of Acoustics Bulletin will be with members any day now and its content includes, as you would expect, details of the significant ways in which the IOA is supporting its members throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

As we start to live in a new ‘normal’ way, we reflect industry business as usual in this issue, including:

• an overview of the Pop Code and why individual events deviate from the guidance;

• the IOA response to The Future Homes Standard;

•  read about how the new IOA promotional careers video was made;

The Association of Noise Consultants and the Institute of Acoustics have issued the following guidance on the Practicality and Reliability of Baseline Sound Level Surveying and related matters during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s impossible to miss how quiet it is outside during the COVID-19 lockdown. Vehicles, aircraft, fixed plant and people noise have all significantly reduced as the UK Government advice of Stay Safe Stay Home is actively enforced.

This has created a unique set of environmental noise conditions and, as a dedicated community of scientists, we are urging you to please take part in a community data gathering exercise to capture this moment.

The ASBA course is approved by the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) and the Institute of Acoustics and relates to the implementation of the noise provisions of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act in Scotland. It is designed to enable successful candidates to make and report the required noise measurements in a competent manner.

Check out and have fun with some IOA sponsored content that has been created for us by Edinburgh Science (ES). The tutoring material is called Ella’s Wobble and is designed to get young people to think about how different sounds are made, how sounds travel and how we can detect sounds depending on what produces them.

We are very grateful to ES who have worked hard under difficult circumstances to produce this at-home ‘acoustics’ tutoring material within a very short time period.     

We are writing to you to ask for your Institution's full support in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

As you are aware there are a number of new medical facilities being built at ExCel London as well as two other Field Hospitals in Manchester and Birmingham to treat patients with COVID-19.

We would like to inform you that Institute of Acoustics has decided to take safety precautions following the recent COVID-19 outbreak. Some staff are already working from home and from Friday 20 March  all staff will be home working and will only be contactable by email. 

Note from organisers of International Year of Sound: