Last week, the Circular Lighting Live Conference took place in London, hosted by Recolight and presided over by designing lighting global (dlg) editor Ray Molony. The event, held at the Royal College of Physicians, drew a crowd of 270 attendees. Despite concerns over UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s recent policy reversals on climate change, the focus remained on the UK’s leading role in reducing embodied carbon.
John Bullough discussed the circular economy’s growing importance, reflecting on a decade-old presentation at Lux Live. His sentiment, “Someday is today,” echoed throughout the conference as experts expressed the need for immediate action on creating a circular economy.
Attendees agreed that Europe, particularly the UK, is ahead of the US in embracing circular lighting economy. They highlighted UK’s strong framework of technical memorandums like TM54, TM65, and TM66, endorsed by leading manufacturers such as TRIDONIC, OSRAM, louis poulsen, FAGERHULT, orluna, whitecroft lighting, BEGA, THORN, Stoane Lighting, iGuzzini, LUXTECH, eldoLED, Future Designs, LAMP, DW Windsor, TARGETI, Designplan Lighting, and LEDFLEX.
Leela Shanker, a prominent voice in the US for circular lighting, led a track discussing Life Cycle Analysis and Environmental Product Declarations. She also highlighted the GreenLight Alliance’s efforts, with its diverse membership including 30 North American and European manufacturers.
Kristina Allison talked about Lighting Metrics, emphasizing the need for EPDs in the United States. She compared metric-based decision-making to counting calories, offering a quantifiable approach to product specification.
Benz Roos of Speirs Major and Alistair Kay of Sloan shared practical insights into regenerative design and remanufacturing. Roos encouraged designers to think about decommissioning from the start, while Kay showcased a case study involving the Holburne Gallery’s shift to remanufactured lighting fixtures.
Francesca Cameron introduced the Recolight Reuse Hub, an online marketplace aiming to extend the life of surplus lighting products. Sean Campbell of Signify concluded the conference with a case study from the Dublin Port Tunnel, showcasing the benefits of LED retrofitting.
The conference underscored the urgency of transitioning to a circular economy, especially in the lighting sector, demonstrating that “Someday is today.”
