Undeniably, the transition to LED lighting has been a force for good for environmental impact. The savings in energy usage alone makes LED a force for positive change, add that the replacement of outdated technology like fluorescents and high intensity discharge lamps removed many heavy metals and toxic elements from the industries' contribution to hazardous waste, and the ongoing success of the transition to LED has had a net positive result. The journey to environmental sustainability however is far from over, and the age-old conflict between profit, economics and environmental principles continues.
There is still so much potential within the lighting industry to play its part in taking steps to be a good environmental partner, small choices that are made every day, or engineering revolutions that can herald technological breakthroughs. Fortunately, many smaller, more agile companies are looking to be more than just a follow the crowd producer, and even the lighting industry heavyweights are prepared to make sincere efforts for positive change and innovation.
Within the industry, every lighting company representative comes armed with news of their efforts to become more sustainable and their role in the onwards march to greener solutions. Some of these companies truly follow through on their promises, others deserve a sideways glance as they then extoll the low cost of their products to market. The investigations into the widely recognised fast fashion industry have opened the eyes of consumers to see the true impact of selecting low-cost options not at their wallet, but on that of the greater environmental picture.
Any broadening of this awareness of the impact of low cost, high turnover products to other industries is a timely happenstance and one the lighting industry needs to embrace. Within the low-cost luminaire market, the cost of installation regularly outweighs the cost of the product.
Whenever this scenario plays out, it’s a simple equation that proves that any impactful return on investment for the client is going to be an unlikely scenario. Any maintenance or early replacement on low quality luminaires will probably outweigh any benefits on the savings from using a low-cost solution.
When luminaires have a potential of 10 plus years of life in a commercial installation, using a product that it is only rated for three is nothing but short sighted. It is not only the final financial costs, but also that throughout the entire product supply chain that needs to be calculated, from the cost to the environment throughout the manufacturing process, the infrastructural costs of freight and packaging, through to the disposal of the end-of-life product.