Circular Lighting Report

Schneider is the ‘world’s most sustainable corporation’   Industrial lighting and electrical equipment maker Schneider Electric has been named the World’s Most Sustainable Corporation 2025 by Corporate Knights and is the only company to rank first in the Global 100 twice. Schneider Electric previously topped the annual list of the most sustainable publicly listed companies in 2021.  The company says that the unique achievement underlines its commitment to delivering the best environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance possible ‘For many years now, sustainability has been at the heart of what Schneider Electric does,’ company CEO Olivier Blum told the press. ‘It’s the driving force that shapes our business decisions and inspires our employees’. Some of its strong scores were for efforts to decouple its energy consumption and carbon emissions from its business growth, and its strong investment in sustainable research and development.  Corporate Knights also called out the link between executive pay incentives and Schneider Electric’s sustainability performance and ESG ratings. ‘Schneider Electric’s position at the top of the Global 100 index is remarkable. No other company has accomplished this twice,’ said Toby Heaps, Corporate Knights’ CEO.  • Read more: Link in the comments • The Circular Lighting Report is powered by Recolight

'Our biggest order was 100% because we were B Corp’ Circular Lighting Report editor Ray Molony talks to SPARK & BELL founder Emer Gillespie about the company, its sustainability ethos and its membership of B Corp. • The Circular Lighting Report is powered by Recolight

'Our biggest order was 100% because we were B Corp’ Circular Lighting Report editor Ray Molony talks to SPARK & BELL founder Emer Gillespie about the company, its sustainability ethos and its membership of B Corp. • The Circular Lighting Report is powered by Recolight

UK remanufacturer expands into Europe UK lighting remanufacturer Trojan Lighting Solutions Limited is expanding into continental Europe.  The company has announced a new division based in in Arnhem in the Netherlands, which will serve as a central hub for its venture into key European markets.  Jac van Megen, a seasoned industry leader with over 20 years of experience working for manufacturers and wholesalers in the lighting, smart building and sustainability sectors, has been appointed to head Trojan Lighting Europe. ‘Trojan Lighting has built a strong reputation for delivering high-quality, sustainable lighting solutions in the UK,’ said van Megen. ‘I’m excited to lead the European expansion, bringing Trojan’s innovative products and services to a market that values energy efficiency, smart technology, and tailored solutions.’ Trojan Lighting Europe will focus on the retail, healthcare, education, commercial and industrial sectors. The company says that by operating locally, it can provide faster support, enhanced customer service, and greater adaptability to the needs of European clients.  Anthony Barrow, managing director of Trojan Lighting, said: ‘Launching Trojan Lighting Europe is an exciting chapter for us. Europe is a dynamic market with a strong focus on sustainability, and we’re ready to meet that demand with our cutting-edge products and services.  ‘Under Jac’s leadership, we’re confident that Trojan Lighting Europe will become a trusted partner for businesses looking to improve energy efficiency and embrace smart building solutions.’ The St Helens-based company has particular expertise and experience in adding intelligence – such as the Mymesh by Chess UK adaptive control platform – to luminaires during remanufacturing. Clients include the National Health Service, the Post Office, Bluewater Shopping Centre, Channel 4 Television and Landsec. • Read more: Link in the comments • The Circular Lighting Report is powered by Recolight

Trump signs order to protect ‘freedom to choose light bulbs’ President Donald Trump has signed an executive order which ‘safeguards the American people’s freedom to choose light bulbs’. The order, dubbed ‘Unleashing American Energy’, is designed to remove ‘burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations [that] have impeded the development of [natural] resources’. Its headline-grabbing action is the removal of state mandates promoting electric vehicles, but also included is a section promoting market competition and innovation for energy-consuming products such as light sources, and also including dishwashers, electric heaters and washing machines. The inclusion of light bulbs has been taken by some lighting industry executives as hinting at a possible reprieve for the incandescent lamp, but legal experts say that it would take an Act of Congress to overturn federal efficiency standards mandating a minimum efficacy of 45 lm/W, which incandescent sources fail to meet. In his last term of office, Trump frequently railed against LED technology and vowed to bring back the traditional light bulb. At a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 2019, he said he looked ‘better under an incandescent light than these crazy lights that are beaming down’. His aim, he said, was to allow Americans to ‘go ahead and decorate your house with whatever lights you want’. • Read more: Link in the comments • The Circular Lighting Report is powered by Recolight • Learn more about sustainable lighting at Circular Lighting Live 2025 on Thursday 25 September. Link below.

Striking 3D printed pendant is made from bioplastic A striking 3D-printed pendant light, made from bioplastic, has been acclaimed by design critics. The creators of the Hedron chandelier say they have drawn inspiration from nature, with hexagonal geometry and renewable bioplastic material.   The shade is an array of tapered cell walls, precisely angled to bounce light twice from the internal LED source to the softly diffused light exiting the luminaire.  The 3D-printed surfaces have a subtle, striated texture creating a distinctive gradient across each surface. With a translucent white natural colour, the pendant has an ethereal quality by day and a warm quality of light by night. There’s also the option of white ceramic coating which gives the product a more dramatic quality of light, with strong gradients from light to dark across its textured surfaces. The Hedron is work of the multi-disciplinary design studio Mickus Projects, which specialises in furniture, lighting, architecture and design strategy.  Founded by Ben K. Mickus in 2006 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the practice takes on design, fabrication and often installation of their work.  • Read more: Link in the comments • The Circular Lighting Report is powered by Recolight • Learn more about sustainable lighting at Circular Lighting Live 2025 on Thursday 25 September 2025. Link below.

NHS unveils plan to decarbonise lighting The National Health Service has unveiled an ambitious plan to decarbonise its lighting and other services over the next 15 years. The organisation, which has a goal of achieving net zero by 2040, has through its Shared Business Services arm published its Decarbonisation of Estates framework agreement. Worth £500m over four years, the framework agreement includes lighting, electric heating and ventilation as well as works such as internal and external wall insulation, ground source and air source heat pumps and photovoltaic systems. ‘It’s geared towards helping the NHS modernise and decarbonise aged assets and buildings throughout the public sector’s estates.’ said Anjub Ali, senior category manager at NHS Shared Business Services. The framework allows for both further competition and direct award and can be used by all NHS and wider public sector authorities. Although the agreement doesn’t specifically address the circular economy, individual NHS Trusts have been enacting measures such as the reuse and upgrade of luminaires rather than replacement. For instance, at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, recessed luminaires in the wards were recently reconditioned and upgraded with an LED gear tray by Trojan Lighting Solutions Limited, with Mymesh by Chess UK intelligent nodes added. The NHS is rolling out the technology across the extensive St Thomas’s site with plans to extend it to sister facility, Guy’s Hospital. • Read more: Link in the comments • The Circular Lighting Report is powered by Recolight

Lights earmarked for reuse in London project A specialist materials cataloguer has earmarked the lighting at a London project for reuse.  The pendants, downlights and other luminaires at 2 Pancras Square in King’s Cross have been recorded by Material Index prior to an interior strip-out ahead of a refurbishment. Each light is prominently labelled to ensure no confusion over which items are to be stripped out and which are to be retained and reused.  2 Pancras Square is a high-grade office built in 2014, located within the King’s Cross Estate, in the London Borough of Camden.  Ahead of a periodic strip-out of two floors, Material Index was appointed to conduct a pre-refurbishment audit to identify components suitable for resale and reuse using its digital platform, and to oversee the brokering and reuse of items from site. The company worked with the site teams of office fit out and refurbishment contractor Parkeray to minimise disruption to their schedule and to maximise the reuse opportunities available. As well as the lights, MI also worked with ceiling manufacturer SAS International to recover over 700 square of ceiling tiles for its recently-launched take-back and reuse service.  • Read more: Link in the comments • The Circular Lighting Report is powered by Recolight

UK firm reuses vintage lights in New York bar British firm skinflint Ltd has supplied a range of pre-used vintage luminaires to a bar in New York, The Cornwall-based reconditioner of industrial and decorative lights provided Sir Henry’s bar on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan with products salvaged from the Czech Republic.  The owners of the bar say they want to revive the spirit of ‘70s Manhattan and pay homage to the Irish roots of the establishment, which has a sister location in County Cork, Ireland. The bar is 'on a mission to bring back the counterculture of art and music’ of its Cork-based namesake, using retro interiors and vintage decor to stay true to its roots.  Skinflint’s 1960s Czech wall lights illuminate the main bar, their retro geometric glass shades providing texture against the well-stocked shelves.  Upstairs, the company’s decorative Czech pendants sit above a second bar, their diamond pattern glass providing a striking illumination to the more intimate room. Skinflint has restored over 50,000 lights and it promises to take them back in exchange for a credit under its ‘Full Circle’ buy-back pledge, an industry first. • Read more: Link in the comments • The Circular Lighting Report is powered by Recolight • Learn more about sustainable lighting at Circular Lighting Live 2025, Recolight’s flagship conference and exhibition, which takes place on Thursday 25 September 2025. Link in the comments.

Lighting firm gives refurbed Cat A fittings to charity Scottish company Blackmoon Lighting Ltd has set up a scheme in which luminaires removed from a Cat A fit-out are refurbished and donated to charities.  The firm, which is based in Loanhead outside Edinburgh, even gives the fittings a five-year warranty.  Blackmoon says it is often engaged in Cat B lighting installations, in which speculative Cat A fit-outs are often removed. The luminaires from the latter can regularly end up in landfill. Its scheme gives the ‘perfectly serviceable’ lights a second life by collecting them, refurbishing them and distributing them to charities or recycling them. Matthew Wright, who has recently taken on the role of managing director at Blackmoon, said: 'There are lots of Cat B fit outs going on across the Central Belt of Scotland, where a workplace is completely re-designed to a client's unique specifications, and often the first thing they do is rip out the lights and replace them with new ones. That’s where we step in. ‘This re-purposing initiative is our way of closing the loop, reducing resource consumption, lowering emissions and making a contribution to building a Net Zero future through our circular economy approach.' ‘We have already helped the Smart Works charity in Edinburgh and a major educational concern in the city. Energy-efficient light fittings benefit charities financially, but many can’t afford them.’  Smart Works Scotland, which gives unemployed women the clothes, coaching and confidence to secure employment and change their lives, has two centres, in Glasgow and Edinburgh, pictured.  Rachel Shields, its fundraising and partnerships manager, said: 'We were delighted that the light fittings were donated free to our charity's new centre in Edinburgh by this amazing and sustainable initiative.' A spokesman for the End Cat A Lighting Waste pressure group said the organisation welcomed the initiative: ’The scrapping of perfectly good luminaires from Cat A and other strip-outs is a stain on the industry and an offence to the environment. Imaginative schemes like this are crucial for reducing waste, but really we need an industry-wide framework that addresses the problem’. • Read more: Link in the comments • Learn more about the End Cat A Lighting Waste group: Link in the comments • The Circular Lighting Report is powered by Recolight