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Harry Verhaar is the head of government affairs at Signify

Recyclability focuses on maximizing the reusability and longevity of materials and resources; this includes lighting. Different from the linear economic system, in the linear economic system, the product will eventually end up as waste due to the initial design characteristics, and the circularity creates a closed recycling system through the design of recyclable, reusable and repairable commodities. So as to keep the future in mind.

I believe that in order to move towards a more sustainable society, we must not only address the issue of carbon emissions, but also focus on the way we manufacture products in a consumer-based society. Therefore, we must examine the way we use or abuse products, and this is exactly what we do in lighting.

Approximately 30 billion light spots are installed worldwide, many of which are disposed of at the end of their useful life. This is not the case for Signify's Bielsko Biala plant in Poland, which became a zero waste landfill last year after successfully establishing a new waste collection system. Now, plastic, paper, glass and municipal waste are separated before collection for reuse or recycling. Waste that was previously landfilled is now being collected for reuse.

We have to look at the way we use or abuse products, this is what we do in lighting"

 In addition, circular lighting is about being able to continue to benefit from the best available technology through product maintenance and upgrades. This allows a level of customer care, performance assurance, and overall business model based largely on the service. The Eindhoven High-Tech Park is a science and technology park in the Netherlands with more than 140 companies. It has cooperated with Signify to redesign its lighting system to better reflect its sustainable business operations.

By switching all existing lighting to LEDs, a circular lighting service was introduced in the entire campus parking lot, and Signify passed the handling and maintenance responsibilities through a service contract. This means that Signify retains ownership of the physical lights and the Eindhoven High-Tech Park pays for the lighting. All in all, this resulted in a 70% energy consumption saving and allowed the campus management team to focus on their core business. "As a campus, it is natural for us to believe that visitors should be exposed to the best and the latest technology," said Harrie Arends, operations manager of the Eindhoven High-Tech Campus. This technology can ensure significant energy savings and lower carbon emissions. In addition, in the next ten years, we will not have to do anything with our lighting system; Signify will handle all of this," he further added.

3D printing has been around for a while, but these lamps are the first real retail lighting application we have seen. It improves the sustainability of our store and is very complementary to our sustainability strategy", M&S R&D Manager Oliver Knowles

In order to facilitate maintenance, products need a modular structure, which means that cyclicality starts at the design and production stages. Oliver Knowles R&D manager of British retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) recently announced that it will launch thousands of 3D Signify printed lamps in its stores. It is expected that this will greatly reduce the carbon footprint of the lighting system, and it will be almost completely reused or recycled at the end of the lamp life. 

The carbon footprint of this technology is usually half that of traditional lamps, and the polycarbonate used is 10 times more recyclable. "3D printing has been around for a while, but these lamps are the first real retail lighting application we have seen. It improves the sustainability of our stores and is very complementary to our sustainability strategy," Knowles said And added that “from an energy and cost-effective point of view, these accessories are huge.”

Ultimately, circular lighting promotes a move towards a more energy-efficient society and may help us postpone the date of Earth Overload Day (that is, global resource consumption exceeding capacity) from July 29, 2021 to the end of the calendar year to which it belongs.

Read the latest article written by Harry Verhaar-Lighting the Road to Green Recovery in Europe

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