ENERGY MANAGEMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
SUSTAINABLE LIGHTING: LOOKING BEYOND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
With facilities managers under increasing pressure to reduce the environmental impact of their estates, services that consume significant amounts of energy such as lighting are under close scrutiny. However, real sustainability means looking beyond energy consumption alone. In this article, Nick Gwilliam, Lighting Designer at Ansell Lighting, explains why whole life performance, repairability, adaptability and circularity all form part of the decision-making process.
When we consider sustainability in relation to lighting and lighting systems, most facilities managers will focus on energy efficiency ratings, LED performance and automation capabilities, and whilst these factors play a huge role in the sustainability cycle, in reality, there is much more to consider.
Sustainability is about creating, using and disposing of goods in a way that minimises environmental harm and conserves natural resources throughout their entire lifecycle. It’s keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible, reducing unnecessary and non-recyclable waste and minimising the need for new resources.
With this in mind then, when it comes to sustainable lighting facilities managers also need to be thinking about product design and materials, manufacturing processes, maintenance requirements and what happens to a product at the end of its useful life.
Lighting manufacturers are making it increasingly easier to do this. In this net zero era, sustainability is a huge selling point and manufacturers are increasingly providing the information needed to demonstrate the environmental performance of their products, making it easier for facilities managers to make informed choices.
One of the first factors to look at is embodied carbon. This refers to the emissions generated throughout the lifecycle of the product; from raw material extraction, manufacturing and transportation, through to installation and end of life processing. It’s a key indicator of the wider environmental impact a product has and can be assessed through Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
which are usually found on individual product pages, within technical documents or on EPD databases.
Other certifications and industry assessment frameworks can also help make sustainable product selection clearer. Products with TM66 accreditation for example are certified as meeting stringent circular economy criteria, giving facilities managers a clear indication that the product meets the necessary standards.
Product design is another factor to consider. Manufacturers are increasingly focused on sustainable product development and designing luminaires that can remain in use for longer, which has meant that many new releases are more adaptable and futureproof. Luminaires with clip on modules and accessories such as emergency lighting functionality or microwave sensors are a great example of this, enabling lighting systems to be adapted as requirements change and prolonging the life of existing products and reducing unnecessary waste.
Another factor to consider is repairability. This means moving away from a ‘replace and dispose’ mindset to one of ‘repair and maintain’, opting for lighting solutions with replaceable components that can be used to fix or update products as required. There are many products available in today’s market that allow this, reducing unnecessary whole-product replacement and the use of added resources in the supply chain.
Resource efficiency is another important factor in sustainability. Facilities managers should be looking for products that incorporate recycled materials, use fewer raw materials and can be recycled at the end of their life to help keep valuable resources in circulation for longer. Packaging should also be considered, particularly across large estates or refurbishment projects where the volume involved can be substantial. Products supplied in reduced, recyclable or plastic free packaging can all contribute to wider waste reduction targets.
For facilities managers, the key is to take a whole-life view. Looking beyond headline wattages and energy- efficiency claims and asking questions about how a product has been made, how long it is designed to last, whether it can be repaired or adapted and what happens at the end of its life. In doing so, facilities teams can create truly sustainable lighting systems that will support their organisations ESR goals.
https://ansell-lighting.com/en 26 | TOMORROW’S FM
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