Lighting firm gives refurbed Cat A fittings to charity

Scottish company Blackmoon Lighting has set up a scheme in which luminaires removed from a Cat A fit-out are refurbished and donated to charities.

The firm, which is based in Loanhead outside Edinburgh, even gives the fittings a five-year warranty.

Blackmoon says it is often engaged in Cat B lighting installations, in which speculative Cat A fit-outs are often removed. The luminaires from the latter can regularly end up in landfill.

Its scheme gives the ‘perfectly serviceable’ lights a second life by collecting them, refurbishing them and distributing them to charities or recycling them.

Matthew Wright, who has recently taken on the role of managing director at Blackmoon, said: ;There are lots of Cat B fit outs going on across the Central Belt of Scotland, where a workplace is completely re-designed to a client’s unique specifications, and often the first thing they do is rip out the lights and replace them with new ones. That’s where we step in.

‘This re-purposing initiative is our way of closing the loop, reducing resource consumption, lowering emissions and making a contribution to building a Net Zero future through our circular economy approach.
‘We have already helped the Smart Works charity in Edinburgh and a major educational concern in the city. Energy-efficient light fittings benefit charities financially, but many can’t afford them. Now all they have to do is get in touch with us and we’ll see how we can assist.’

Smart Works Scotland, which gives unemployed women the clothes, coaching and confidence to secure employment and change their lives, has two centres in Glasgow and Edinburgh, pictured.

Rachel Shields, its fundraising and partnerships manager, said: ‘We were delighted that the light fittings were donated free to our charity’s new centre in Edinburgh by this amazing and sustainable initiative.

‘Thanks so much to Blackmoon Lighting for supporting our cause and helping to transform our new centre into a warm and welcoming hub where even more women can access our transformative interview, dressing and coaching service to help them connect with their potential, get the job and change their lives.’

A spokesman for the End Cat A Lighting Waste pressure group said the organisation welcomed the initiative: ’The scrapping of perfectly good luminaires from Cat A and other strip-outs is a stain on the industry and an offence to the environment. Imaginative schemes like this are crucial for reducing waste, but really we need an industry-wide framework that addresses the problem’.

• Learn more about the End Cat A Lighting Waste group at www.endcata.co.uk

• Learn more about sustainable lighting at Circular Lighting Live 2025, Recolight’s flagship conference and exhibition, which takes place on Thursday 25 September 2025 at the Minster Building in the City of London. Free to specifiers, Circular Lighting Live 2025 will feature leading experts, specifiers and policy makers who will share their insights into forthcoming standards and legislation, emerging technologies and new business models. More info: www.circularlighting.live