Mayor approves environmental measures at Thorlux

Thorlux Lighting’s local mayor has been shown around the company’s factory and its environmental measures.

Councillor Ann Isherwood was shown the extensive manufacturing capabilities along with recent green investments Thorlux has made.

A key part  is the extension of the roof-mounted solar photovoltaic system, which comprises 3,138 panels delivering 1 million kWh.

The PV panels provide 36 per cent of all electricity consumed at the in Worcestershire facility. On days where demand is lower, excess energy is fed into the national grid.

Thorlux makes over 400,000 luminaires every year. The factory contains energy intensive processes, such as sheet metal punching, laser cutting and forming, powder coating and LED PCB assembly lines.

The company says it is continually measuring and improving its environmental credentials and for many years has had an energy monitoring programme in place which is independently certified to ISO 14001.

In 2009 Thorlux invested in its own carbon offsetting programme, planting trees on land in Monmouthshire to offset the CO₂ generated from its manufacturing and selling activities. The company has planted some 150,000 trees over the last 10 years.

A typical sports hall luminaires could be offset by planting 10 trees a year. Each tree will offset about one tonne of CO2, or approximately 1,900KWh of electricity.

Thorlux quotes for luminaires prices include quotes for carbon offsetting using the company’s trees at Devauden.

Customers who opt for the carbon offsetting scheme receive an email detailing the trees they have purchased and the location of the site.

Thorlux encourages its customers to visit Devauden – and has recently built a visitor centre there to explain the process. Children – some from schools using Thorlux luminaires – are regular visitors to the site to see the trees that are capturing the carbon produced by their classroom’s lighting.

Further measures include the sourcing of all of the company’s electricity from renewable sources. Over 80 per cent of its waste is recycled and 40 per cent of its vehicles are either electric or hybrid.

Thanks to initiatives like these, Thorlux has been officially recognised as being carbon neutral since 2012. The decade-long status has been independently assessed by a third party in accordance with ISO 14064-1, the international standard for the quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals.

‍• Recolight is offering a series of special one-day training workshops on ‘Lighting product design for a Circular Economy’. Hosted by industrial designer Simon Fisher of F Mark, the CPD-accredited event explores the design criteria, regulations and standards to help lighting manufacturers apply and demonstrate circular economy principles in product development. More HERE.