Did you know that up to 100,000 light fittings are removed in the UK every week, with most ending up in the waste stream?*
Worse, many have barely been switched on.
That’s the annual equivalent of 156,000 tonnes of CO2 – a bubble big enough to contain the Shard building in London.
To attract a tenant, real estate developers typically finish a speculative office building with brand new lights, as part of a so-called Cat A fit-out.
However, when the tenant moves in, the majority take these out and replace them with bespoke Cat B light fittings.
Just 7 per cent of the discarded lights are recycled appropriately. The rest usually ends up in the waste stream.
We believe this practice is unsustainable and needs to stop.
The good news is that there ARE alternatives.
Leading developers are already adopting best practices. These include installing sample floors, designing architectural lighting and ceilings for retention, and reusing luminaires, ceilings and raised floors.
Did you know that there are clearance firms who re-home used lights?
Did you know that there are thousands of new and nearly-new commercial luminaires available for FREE now on reuse websites?
Did you know that are a growing number of companies who will recondition these lights, test and warranty them?
It’s never been easier to do the right thing, so let’s make Cat A waste history!
How you can help us to make Cat A waste history:
* Source: Recolight
WHY CAT A IS A PROBLEM.
Often designed for generic open-plan space, traditional Cat A lighting is not easily adapted nor does it support functionality, productivity or the good health and wellbeing of occupants.
It’s simply poor lighting.
Additionally, estimates suggest that Cat A fit-outs are responsible for between 30 to 100kg (of which lighting is 11 kg) of equivalent carbon dioxide per square metre (CO2e/m2). Cat B fit-outs are responsible for a further 25 to 75kg CO2e/m2* (of which lighting is 13 kg).
However, the tenant fit-out is rarely included in life cycle modelling and there could be multiple fit-outs in the typical 60-year life of a building. This doesn’t appear consistent with the industry’s net zero aspirations.
And finally, Cat A lighting in its current form limits our ability to deliver innovative and integrated lighting solutions that can create value for clients and enhance their brand identity and reputation.
​* source GT Market Intelligence | Is Cat A sustainable
