Thorn aims for plastic-free packaging

THORN Lighting has announced that all its products in its ThornECO range will be fully plastic free by the end of the year.

The company says the challenge has been to remove single-use plastic without negatively impacting on user experience.

It says it has seen the challenges its lighting installer customers were experiencing with its packaging. ‘We were seeing one pile of plastic that couldn’t be recycled and another pile of cardboard that could be recycled,’ says Thorn. ‘We wanted to reduce site waste and ensure that our packaging is fully recyclable.’

The new plastic-free packaging for ThornECO products is currently being rolled out with a target to complete by the end of 2022.

This week Thorn Lighting also unveiled an online sustainability hub, documenting its environmental credentials and achievements. It says it is committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2025.

The Zumtobel Group, of which Thorn Lighting is a part, has developed its own process for the creation of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its luminaires. It’s verified by an external programme holder, the Berlin-based Institute of Build and Environment (IBU).

The EPDs are generated according to the ISO 14040, ISO 14025 and EN 15804 standards.

The website also trumpets its recent win of a prestigious ‘green’ rating in the Build Back Better Awards for its dark-sky project in Cumbria in the UK.

The Zumtobel Group says it is implementing the principle ‘design for disassembly’ for its light fittings.

This will allow for the fast and easy disassembly of its constituent materials and components after the end of the product use phase, components which can be easily and quickly disassembled and replaced and a product can be disassembled into its individual parts at low cost for recycling or remanufacturing.