Lighting industry waste compliance body Recolight has released its environmental impact statement and says it is targeting net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2040.
The organisation – publisher of the Circular Lightning Report – says it is ‘putting its own house in order’ but its ambitions are being slowed down particularly by the lack of availability of low carbon HGVs to transport end-of-life lamps and luminaires.
It has also set interim targets, a 50 pre cent reduction in scope 1, 2 and business travel by 2030, from a baseline measurement of Recolight’s 2024 footprint, and a 25 per cent reduction of carbon emissions per tonne of waste collected, by 2030, also from the 2024 baseline.
Recolight’s IT system now automatically monitors transport carbon emissions for all the types of waste electrical and electronic equipment it collects.
It has changed its service provision to limit the number of next-day and short notice container deliveries and collections, which almost always resulted in a dedicated vehicle movement for that one job.
It is educating and encouraging managers of its collection points to stack containers well, and to only request a collection when the container is full. Recolight has also introduced a monthly Carbon Reduction Champion award for the Collection Partner with the highest container weight in the network.
These changes helped it achieve a 6.9 per cent reduction in waste transport emissions per tonne of waste lamps collected in 2023, against an annual target of 10 per cent.
Net Zero reduction criteria are included in the organisation’s recycling and logistics supplier tender documents. Suppliers are scored based on the criteria, and those who demonstrate better carbon reduction methods receive a higher score. Additionally, staff do not fly on company business, but are instead encouraged to travel by train or electric vehicle.
In the document, Recolight also cites its wider efforts to influence the lighting supply chain with events and webinars, including the annual Circular Lighting Live in London.
In 2024, Recolight enhanced its offering to support the lighting industry’s journey towards sustainable product innovation with the launch its Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) service.
This service offers training and support to lighting manufacturers on the LCA methodology with particular emphasis on its use for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). LCAs enable manufacturers to understand the environmental performance of their products, enabling sustainable innovation.
Recolight provide training in LCAs via webinars open to all including manufacturers, designers and other lighting professionals, but also in more detailed format as day-long in-person workshops. Workshops are designed for manufacturers looking to learn the LCA methodology and the implementation of an EPD strategy. For those manufacturers looking to take a comprehensive approach to EPDs, Recolight provide support services, offering licensing for the One Click LCA software platform, the relevant onboarding training and ongoing, on-demand support.
Complementing this is Recolight’s One-Off EPD service, which provides lighting manufacturers with an accessible and cost-effective pathway to obtaining their first EPD. Recognising that traditional EPD development can be resource-heavy, Recolight’s One-Off service provides a stepping stone into the EPD journey at a competitive price.
• Learn more about sustainable lighting at Circular Lighting Live 2025, Recolight’s flagship conference and exhibition, which takes place on Thursday 25 September 2025 at the Minster Building in the City of London. Free to specifiers, Circular Lighting Live 2025 will feature leading experts, specifiers and policy makers who will share their insights into forthcoming standards and legislation, emerging technologies and new business models. More info: www.circularlighting.live
