Circular Lighting Live 25 | Programme

Fenchurch and Lombard Suites

9.00am Welcome

SESSION 1: Climate driven design
Creative design – of products, projects and even processes – is the most powerful tool we as an industry have to mitigate the impact of lighting.

Lessons from Base Camp
What we can learn from sustainability practices on Mount Everest. Asela Rodrigo of Projlojik and architect Hamish Angus McAndrew, recently returned from Everest, shares the principles and practices which can inspire and inform our industry.

Designing with purpose: One maker’s journey
Decorative luminaire maker Spark & Bell puts sustainability and circular design at the heart of everything it does. It offers a free lifetime repair service, a 10-year warranty and plastic recycling. It’s one of only two companies in the lighting sector to achieve a B Corp score of over 100. Here founder Emer Gillespie shares the journey she and her team have been on.

Future Lights: Design for sustainable age
To be truly sustainable, luminaires need to evolve into products which can be easily disassembled, repaired, upgraded and reused. They also need to materials and processes with minimal environmental impact. Here we look under the bonnet at ground-breaking lights designed for sustainability.

Just One Thing Micro Talk: The birds and the bees: A biodiversity gain from lighting
We explore Thorlux Lighting’s self-managed sequestration project at Brook Farm, Longtown in Hereford. 

11am to 11:30am Coffee, exhibition and networking

SESSION 3 Smart remanufacturing
How the addition of intelligence during a lighting upgrade is adding extra services and functionality, and changing the value proposition for clients

Selling sustainability: Remanufacturing from a client’s perspective
Remanufacturing has to work for the client for it to be a success, but often their objectives, timelines and cost appetites aren’t met. Here our speaker shares hard-won insights into how all can benefit.

Just One Thing micro talk

Smart remanufacturing case study: Bluewater Shopping Centre
Bluewater Shopping Centre had been on a mission to be one of the most sustainable retail malls in the world. As part of this, it is rolling out a huge LED lighting upgrade while retaining as many luminaires as possible. Crucially, wireless nodes have been added, bringing intelligence to the lighting estate. Here Craig Stead from control supplier MyMesh explores the ambitious project.

Project: Aston University Library 
Some 657 T5 fluorescent luminaires were upgraded to LED using Thorlux Lighting’s standard retrofit kits while preserving 60% of the original luminaire and saving 127kg of embodied carbon compared to a new luminaire. The addition of the company’s SmartScan control system further reduces energy consumption to 50% of the previous installation. 

1pm to 2pm Lunch, exhibition and networking

SESSION 5 Creative Cat A
New lights in speculative Cat A office fit-outs often end up in the waste stream when a tenant moves in. Here we explore creative solutions to the problem. 

Cat A waste: Can we fix it, yes we can…
The commercial office sector continues to churn out unnecessary waste, including the scrapping of new and nearly new luminaires,  through outdated Cat A fit-out practices. Here John McRae, director of Orms and member of the End Cat A Lighting Waste campaign,  explores efforts and ideas to fix the system from within.

What if Cat A lighting could be rented — and reused?
That provocative question is the starting point for an ambitious new model from 18 Degrees, a London-based lighting design consultancy. In this session, principal Paul Beale shares the story behind 18 Circular — a radical rethink of the Cat A lighting supply chain anchored in circular economy principles. From the earliest concept to practical pilot projects and stakeholder buy-in, Paul charts the project’s evolution, and the real-world hurdles faced along the way. The session opens with a short documentary capturing the early momentum behind this initiative.

3.00pm to 3:30pm Coffee, exhibition and networking

SESSION 7 Logistics: Closing the loop
How do we create a vibrant market for useable luminaires at the end of their ‘first life’ that keeps them operating and compliance with industry norms?

Take Back case study: SAS Recover
SAS International has made a radical decision to take back, recondition and reuse its ceiling tiles, and it now has 28,000 square metres of refinished stock available for sale, roughly the size of London Zoo.  Here business development manager Tim Phillpot takes us through the challenges and the successes of the initiative and how it can serve as an example for lighting and other suppliers of building products. 

Luminaire reuse: Making it work in the real world
A pioneering initiative from the Finishes and Interiors Sector is seeing luminaires removed from strip-outs being offered free of charge to other construction professionals. It’s designed to reduce the environmental impact of the sector. The products on offer mostly come from Cat A office fit-outs which have been stripped out when the tenants moved in.

Take Back case study: The KKDC ‘return and renew’ service Architectural lighting manufacturer KKDC’s RE.VO ‘return and renew’ initiative is one of the first such programmes forprofile-based linear LED luminaires. It initially covers the new KIISS range which was developed with a focus on complete lifetime longevity using a future-proofed LED light module system to allow simple removability and replacement of the light source. Here Tom Hall, managing director of KKDC England, walks us through the service.

The Circular Lighting Live moonshot panel
Waste and low utilisation of luminaires is one of the biggest environmental challenges in lighting. Can we fix it in a way that creates value and margin for the industry? Our panel considers a range of ambitious, creative and disruptive ideas and approaches to accelerate the lighting industry’s transformation into the circular economy.