Blog by Issie Gilbert Sales & Marketing Design Assistant
Intro
Our decision to attend the Zero Lighting Conference in May was driven by a need to confirm our sustainability journey. We want to find out what certification is best for us. We are also driven by the moral imperative that we must do our bit in this increasingly fragile world.
Background
After the Paris Agreement in 2015, the world’s nations came together to act against climate change. The agreement aims for internationally to be net zero by 2050. Meaning the amount of emissions added is no more than the amount taken away.
The gritty details – Manufacturer Insights
The LIA (The Lighting Industry Association) and RecoLight co-hosted the Net Zero Lighting Conference 2024. The event included 120 attendees and speakers. All gathered to discuss knowledge and action needed in reducing carbon emissions from the Lighting manufacturers’ industry.
Manufacturers such as Whitecroft, Stoane Lighting and Knightsbridge shared their plans and progress in reducing their carbon emissions and achieving a net zero status. They talked through progress made and the various tools they used to help start this journey. Catherine Connolly, CEO at Knightsbridge presented the changes she initiated since joining the team. The team changed all packaging, including design, materials and manufacturing. This resulted, in the long term, significantly reduced costs and waste. During the Q&A, she was asked how she got people ‘on board’ with such a big change and how she helped drive colleagues to embrace this. Catherine said that there was a long-term colleague that took the lead and drove the project. This made it easier for people to make the change.
“I haven’t had a huge amount to do with it. This had all been driven by them [the other employees]. I think culturally it was about people in the organization taking ownership. Finding the right person who wanted to do that.” Catherine highlights the importance of including employees in big changes such as this. This initiative eases the transitions and builds a level of care from involvement with how it turns out.
Bob Bohannon, Head of Policy and Sustainability at The LIA, provided an insightful overview of various certifications. There’s a plethora of these but they offer alternative goals to achieve, so finding the right one for your company is easier than I thought. Bob highlighted the importance of starting the journey, however daunting it can seem, and made some very valid points about the expectation from customers.
“Being sustainable is like a dog, it’s not just for Christmas, it’s long term.”
Many certifications Bob spoke about require the publication of an annual report. This ensures the enforcement of actions and removes greenwashing. Each certification has different requirements and provides different services. He also underlined the importance of clearly presenting sustainability claims. Companies cannot claim to be carbon neutral without having evidence clearly displayed on their website, social media etc. Some certifications are becoming essential to the continued success of a company. We have 3 sustainable certifications and are looking for an overall certification that takes us firmly on the net zero journey. From Bob’s comments and my own experience, here are some already obtained and potential new certifications that will suit us.
- TM66
The TM66 Assured Product Verification Scheme is an innovative initiative developed and fulfilled by the Lighting Industry Association (LIA) and endorsed by CIBSE (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers). This scheme aims to advance circular economy practices within the lighting industry.
- Cradle to cradle
Any eligible product or material that meets the requirements of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Product Standard can receive certification. Companies work with an independent assessment body to assess and verify a product’s performance across each of the Cradle to Cradle Certified performance categories.
- ISO 14001
From cost savings and bolstering brand reputation to engaging employees and building resilience in the face of uncertainty, ISO 14001 – Environmental management system (EMS) can help you achieve sustainable success.
- EcoVadis
EcoVadis works by enabling a wide variety of CSR issues, or corporate social responsibility measures into their final evaluation scores listed on their platform. Some of the CSR issues EcoVadis strives to include are environmental measures, labor and human rights, and efforts to achieve ethical or sustainable goals.
- B Corp
Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. B Corp Certification is your commitment to using business as a force for good whilst giving you tangible benefits.
Our thoughts
Architectural FX has already made strides in our sustainable journey. We secured BSI ISO9001 and ISO14001, making the necessary changes to obtain these certifications. Along with becoming members of The LIA at the start of 2024, we attained TM66 certification on our most sold product, Integrate. We also created our Marketplace not-for-profit portal at the start of 2023. The platform is designed for customers to resell or repurpose their used and unwanted products. This portal was created to persuade our customers to consider the disposal or repurposing of products. By giving them an easy, no fee and simple way of doing this sustainably, we hope it persuades people to go that little extra in being sustainably conscious.
As Architectural FX’s newly appointed sustainability champion, I am tasked with educating myself and colleagues about the subject. And finding new ways to continue reducing our carbon emissions. Through my research pre-event, I thought that making these changes and gaining certifications would be an expensive and arduous progress. However, after this conference, I learned this wasn’t the case. Many speakers highlighted the cost reductions made from specific changes. And in the long run, this reduces cost and waste. The changes were significant. We have already made big changes with our packaging methods. We chose to start using boxes and tubes made from recycled materials and reusing as much as we can. Our production team made changes. They researched and trialed methods and solutions before finding the ones that worked best. Making this a team project, we saw first-hand what Catherine was saying. It drives the team to find the best solution. So now we find ourselves on this net zero journey, we keep asking ‘What’s next?’.
Conclusion
The Net Zero event was very enlightening, giving us opportunities to continue the journey. We have started looking into certifications to fill in the gaps and help create a plan and goal to strive for. Post event, I will be presenting my findings to the senior management team. Chris Skelley, MD, has been instrumental in driving this project forward.
A big thank you to The LIA and Recolight for organizing the event and hosting a brilliant day! It was so lovely to meet people within the industry with the same passion and drive towards Net Zero.
