Noise Action Week: A history of speaking up

Joseph Lewis
Analysis Acoustics Policy

After a long buildup, Noise Action Week 2026 is here. Already, the week has put noise back on the agenda, following a popular launch event that revealed all the latest evidence on noise pollution from international expert Professor Charlotte Clark and showed the kinds of action that can make a difference to outcomes for human health.  

These are the quiet events that shape the future of policy. Bringing together evidence with the people who deliver policy on the ground is the fastest way of making change happen.

At its core, that premise is the mission of our Environmental Policy Implementation Community (EPIC). For the last three years, EPIC has been building its capacity to deliver events like this, making a real difference to environmental outcomes at pace, even as it works to shape policy agendas in the long-term.

So how did we get here? The journey to Noise Action Week 2026 started 30 years ago, even if EPIC is still a new network. Reflecting on the success of EPIC means reflecting on the history of Noise Action Week, and what it means to raise awareness of one of the country’s most neglected pollutants.

Joseph Lewis is Head of Policy at the Institution of Environmental Sciences, working to promote the use of the environmental sciences in decision making. Joseph leads the delivery of the IES Policy Programme, standing up for the voice of science, scientists, and the natural world in policy.

Joseph has more than ten years of experience in public policy, including in Parliament and the charity sector. He is particularly passionate about science communication and the role it can play in shaping environmental decisions.

Recap: What are the quiet consequences of loud noise? 

We would be remiss not to mention: noise matters. It’s more than a nuisance; it’s the second biggest environmental threat to health, less than only air pollution.

For a full background on the threat of noise pollution, its consequences for human health, and the current state of policy for managing noise, you can catch up with last month’s Essential Environment article on legislation for noise pollution, which asked whether it is fit-for-purpose (spoiler: it’s not).

What are the headlines?

  • Noise is more than a nuisance; it’s a serious concern for health. We know that too much noise can give us hearing loss or painful and permanent tinnitus. It’s also been linked to strokes, heart disease, and dementia. When noise gets in the way of peace and quiet, it makes us more vulnerable to all kinds of health risks, which is why it’s even been linked to diabetes and cognitive impairment.
  • People experience noise differently, so something minor for you might be a serious problem for the people you care about. We call it ‘aural diversity’, which means that the way we hear sounds is shaped by our age, our health, conditions like ADHD or autism, or even the shape of our ears.
  • It’s not silent, but it can be deadly: we know that breathing unhealthy air for a long time is poisoning our body, so we need to think the same way about noise. It disrupts our sleep, which can have long-term effects on our health, making us weaker as we age. It drowns out our free time, so it’s harder to feel calm, unwind, or have precious moments with family or friends. 
  • It’s not about turning down the volume, it’s about the right noise at the right time. Just like food or drinks, there’s a healthy way to consume sound. Too much, or too frequently, and it gets out of hand. If we can manage our exposure, and what we are exposing others to, we can completely change health outcomes while only making small, practical changes to our lives. 

Recap more on noise pollution and what the country’s doing to address it in our latest analysis for Essential Environment. You can also hear a direct account of the health impacts of noise from internationally recognised expert Professor Charlotte Clark in her talk at the Noise Action Week launch event.

What’s the history of action on noise pollution?

Noise is a serious issue, and as we outlined last month, we aren’t collectively doing enough to help people enjoy sound safely, without putting others at risk. We need to do more.

Noise Action Week is the first step to creating the change we need. Yet the campaign first started 30 years ago, so what’s the history, and why have we brought it back?

Back in 1996, when I was just beginning nursery school, a campaign was started so that my generation wouldn’t need to grow up with hearing damage. Increasing evidence had begun to make the case for wider action on noise pollution, also leading to the Noise Act 1996.

International Noise Awareness Day was launched in the same year, with the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection (NSCA) coordinating action in the UK. NSCA would eventually become Environmental Protection UK (EPUK), which merged into the IES family in 2023, becoming EPIC in the process. Similarly, Noise Awareness Day became Noise Action Day in 1999, expanding to Noise Action Week in 2005.

The goal of each of the variously-named days and weeks was to raise awareness of the problems that too much noise can cause for communities. Recognising the substantial element of human behaviour that drives the causes of unhealthy noise, legislation alone was not seen as enough to solve the problem.

Government support came in the early 2000s, as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra, which has managed to keep the same name since 2001) provided funding. Noise Action Week began to pick up momentum, increasing its presence in the media and achieving its goal of increased awareness.

Unfortunately, much of that positive progress ended in the late 2010s, as funding became more restrictive. The campaign ended in 2021 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic as resources for Noise Action Week declined. EPUK was no longer able to host the campaign, having lost much of its historic organisational capacity.

In 2023, the Environmental Policy Implementation Community was created as part of EPUK merging into the IES family. One of the goals of that union was to reconnect environmental experts with the public, decision makers, and those delivering policy on the ground. Where awareness on noise had begun to decline, restoring the past success of Noise Action Week was seen as a priority for the new community.

That’s why Noise Action Week was relaunched for 2026, bringing in support from the Noise Abatement Society, Association of Noise Consultants, Institute of Acoustics, Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland, and others.

The goal of the coordinated approach is to bring back awareness of noise and its health impacts, support behavioural change by noise makers, reduce unwanted noise and its impacts, and influence policy makers to take action to modernise our collective approach to noise.

Ellie Savage, Coordinator of Noise Action Week, said "I’ve spent the last year speaking with people about the past, present, and future of Noise Action Week, and one thing comes through consistently: the strength of the campaign has always been its ability to connect people. Many still fondly remember visiting local schools to talk to children about noise, organising community events, speaking with dog walkers in parks, handing out leaflets, and, of course, the famous Noise Action Week beer mats!

By relaunching Noise Action Week, we want to re-establish that shared moment of focus for acoustics professionals, campaigners and communities to speak up about the impact of noise. Just as importantly, we want it to be a platform that builds new coalitions, strengthens collaboration and brings people together around a healthier, quieter future."

To hear more about the past, present, and future of Noise Action Week, listen to Ellie's talk at the launch event.

How can we get involved?

There’s a lot going on for Noise Action Week 2026, and lots of ways to get involved.

Whoever you are:

As a member of the public:

As a professional working with sound, noise, or acoustics:

If you have any suggestions for how you can help or how Noise Action Week can continue to raise awareness in the future, contact Ellie Savage, coordinator of Noise Action Week, at ellie@the-ies.org.

What comes next?

Noise Action Week is back. We have started to rebuild the public’s awareness of noise pollution and its effects on human health, yet there is much more to be done. 

One of the goals of the 2024-2027 IES Strategy is ‘Uniting science and people’. We are building closer links across charities, forums, researchers, and professionals; while increasing the work we do to raise public awareness of environmental science. Noise Action Week is just one step towards that journey, as part of our mission to unite science and people to resolve environmental challenges.

Get involved: if you want to support the work of the IES to stand up for science and the environment, become an affiliate, or if you’re an environmental professional, join the IES.

If you want to learn more about environmental policy or the training we offer for members, please contact Joseph Lewis, Head of Policy (joseph@the-ies.org).

Header image credit: © Kalim | Adobe Stock

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