Embodied Carbon: An Emerging Trend

By Parker Allen

The sustainability train has left the station, and educated NALMCO contractors will have a significant advantage over contractors who do not understand this new market dynamic. With today’s global supply chain shortage, availability can be more important than price on many jobs. Demand for sustainable products is increasing, and we believe there will be a time when the carbon footprint of a luminaire or lighting component is weighed heavily in the decision-making process.

According to a recent program entitled “Toward Carbon-Efficient Lighting,” hosted by the Parsons School of Design, electric lighting is responsible for nearly 5% of global CO2 emissions. With this in mind, the industry has begun to give increased attention to the concept of circularity by assessing the life cycle of common lighting products. A life cycle assessment (LCA) is a comprehensive analysis of a product’s environmental impact, from its production all the way to its disposal. As Alan Grant, Design and Development Director at DW Windsor, explains, “The traditional linear ‘make, use, dispose’ model of consumption is not only extremely wasteful but contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Creating a circular economy helps minimize both the level of waste and environmental impact.”

In an effort to better understand these issues and reduce the industry’s carbon output, the GreenLight Alliance and IALD’s Lighting Industry Resource Council (LIRC) have launched the Life Cycle Assessment Incubator. Formally announced in March, the Incubator has three main objectives:

1. Support collaboration among lighting manufacturers and lighting designers.

2. Develop a standard for measuring the environmental impact of lighting strategies and products.

3. Encourage global harmonization of these standards across territories.

The initial step in the process will be data collection and analysis. Data will be gathered for 5 common fixture types:

1. Linear

2. Downlight

3. Cylinder

4. Troffer/Recessed 600 x 600

5. Post Top

These categories were chosen based on the volume of product and where leaders of the incubator feel there is most impact. Studying these five categories of fixtures will paint a representative picture of the environmental impact of common lighting products.

The process begins with the manufacturers, who will complete detailed surveys used to quantify materials and components making up the lighting products manufactured at their facility. They will provide information on the luminaires as well as their manufacturing processes and associated energy usage, packaging, waste, and emissions to air and water.

Following the collection stage, the data will be analyzed to create a model industry average for each fixture type. Life cycle assessments will then be drafted and used to create product-specific environmental product declarations (EPDs), which will then be shared with designers. This data will benefit everyone in the industry. It can be used by manufacturers to improve their production processes and by designers to refine their design strategies to minimize their impact. With standardized data in hand, designers will be able to compare different products and opt for those that have less of a carbon output.

From the initial data collection to the rollout of EPDs, the leaders of this initiative expect the process to take about a year. They are hoping to have EPDs in the hands of designers by early Spring of 2023. Arfon Davies, Leader of Lighting at Arup, summarized the situation well. He explained, “We simply cannot continue with business as usual. For us in the lighting industry this means thinking carefully and differently about the decisions we make.”

What does this mean for lighting management and maintenance contractors? Let’s focus on the latter two phases of a product’s life cycle – its use and disposal. LED products already feature incredibly long lifespans compared to earlier generations of lighting fixtures. The limiting factor for the lifespans of these products is often advances in technology that make these products obsolete. Using products that are easily upgraded allows them to keep up as technology advances. Furthermore, with the rise of smart buildings and integrated technology, products that are capable of incorporating such technology can simply be upgraded when necessary without having to be replaced.

When a product does come to the end of its life, it is important that it can be recycled rather than disposed. Aluminum fixtures are ideal because they can easily be recycled. Alan Grant explains the benefits of doing so, saying, “Recycling reclaimed aluminum requires up to 95% less energy compared with primary aluminum production, meaning a significant reduction in carbon emissions.”

The Incubator is a clear indication of where the industry is heading. We have already started to see the energy savings due to the advent and widespread adoption of LEDs. In the future, the entire energy output involved in manufacturing, operating, and disposing of a lighting fixture will need to be factored in when designing and maintaining lighting projects.

LM&M will continue to provide updates on this emerging trend. ■