Lighting the Race to Zero

First and foremost, we need to accelerate the switch toward energy-efficient connected LEDs. This is a simple but significant step that will contribute to countries meeting their targets to reduce emissions by at least 55% by 2030.

If businesses and cities around the globe switch to LED lighting, we can reduce our carbon footprint by more than 553 million tonnes of CO2, , the amount of emissions that 25 million trees could sequester in a year. Making the switch would also generate electricity savings of 1,132 TWh, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 494 million households. This would save a total of EUR 177 billion per year on electricity costs¹. For the United Kingdom and Ireland (UK&I), switching to LED lighting in the professional lighting market could reduce CO2 emissions by 3.9 million tonnes in, the amount of emissions that 175 million trees could sequester in a year. Making the switch would also generate electricity savings of 16.1 TWh, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of more than 4.3 million households. This would mean a saving of EUR 3.8 billion on electricity costs.²

This isn’t rocket science. Today, lighting accounts for about 12% of our global electricity consumption a year. By moving to more energy-efficient LED lighting, we can drop this to 8% by 2030, even while the total number of light points continues to rise. It’s a fast, non-disruptive intervention that can act as a frontrunner as we accelerate preparations for more complex renovations.

The switch to LED is just one part of the puzzle. The new generation of LED is not just energy efficient, but connected. Connecting LED lighting to a network and introducing sensors and controls further enhances their efficiency while laying the groundwork for a digital smart building framework that brings together multiple functions and applications.

In professional lighting, the outlook shows that most opportunity is still ahead of us, as two thirds of the installed base is still conventional lighting technology. This means that we need to speed up renovation within commercial and industrial sectors as well as within housing, retrofitting older consumptive systems with more energy-efficient connected LED installations, and do it by 2030. A fundamental part of this transition is to more than double the annual rate of building renovation to 3% per year.

Converting to connected LED lighting has the power to reduce the built environment’s lighting-related energy consumption by up to 80%. It will also deliver carbon reductions and reduce costs. It will improve the comfort of those using the building. And it will accelerate the adoption of smart technologies by governments, in industry, and in households across the world, reaping benefits in productivity, health, wellbeing, and digital innovation.

To achieve this, we need nations around the globe to revise their buildings codes and set high standards in the materials that are used and the energy buildings consume, not just in our new buildings, but in our existing building stock, too.

Feeling inspired? Visit our webpages and learn how sustainability is at the heart of our strategy for the years ahead: Sustainability | Signify Company Website.