Has the Lighting Industry Reached a Turning Point on Circularity?

How long can a luminaire remain in use? Can it be upgraded, repaired or reused? What happens when a space changes, or when the product reaches the end of its life?

From Energy Efficiency to Circularity

Energy efficiency will remain central to sustainable lighting design, but it is no longer the only measure of progress. A highly efficient luminaire can still lose value if it is difficult to maintain, cannot be upgraded or is removed long before the end of its useful life.

This is particularly relevant in commercial fit-out. Les points to Cat A installations as one area where circularity could encourage a different approach. In some buildings, lighting is installed across large floorplates before the final tenant requirements are known. A few months later, once an occupier moves in and adapts the space, fittings may be removed even though they still have years of service life left.

Even where those products are recycled, material value, labour and embodied carbon have already been lost. For Les, this is where circularity changes the question. Instead of asking only how efficiently a luminaire performs, the industry also needs to ask whether it can be reused, refurbished, upgraded or adapted.

How Attitudes Have Changed Since TM66

First introduced in 2021, TM66 — Technical Memorandum 66: Creating a Circular Economy in the Lighting Industry — was developed by CIBSE and the Society of Light and Lighting to provide the industry with a structured way to assess circularity across design, manufacture, maintenance, reuse, and end-of-life.

With TM66 now being updated, the conversation around circularity is moving back into focus. Since its introduction, Les has seen awareness grow, even if progress has not always been linear. When TM66 first appeared, there was strong interest. That conversation then became quieter for a period, particularly in the UK. Now, however, it appears to be building again.

Fagerhult is seeing more enquiries from project teams asking whether existing fittings can be retained rather than replaced. In some cases, this might involve retaining the luminaire body and supplying a new gear tray to upgrade an older fluorescent fitting to LED.

Circularity is no longer only about choosing a new product with stronger environmental credentials; it is also about asking whether an existing product can remain in use.

Understanding Circularity

One of the most common misunderstandings is that circularity simply means using recycled materials. Recycled material matters, but circularity considers design, material selection, maintenance, replaceability, refurbishment, reuse and end-of-life recovery.

At product level, Les sees longevity and serviceability as central. A luminaire that lasts longer places less demand on new resources, but only if key components such as drivers and LED boards can be accessed and replaced.

Good circular lighting design also applies at project level. According to Les, the lighting needs to adapt as the space changes. Track-based systems, such as Fagerhult’s Control Track Versa, can allow luminaires to be repositioned as layouts evolve, rather than removed and replaced. “As a space adapts, the lighting can adapt with the space,” he says.

Material choice matters too. Manufacturers need to consider where recycled, post-consumer recycled, natural or lower-impact materials can be used, while ensuring the product remains durable, safe and suitable for the application.

TM66 in Practice

TM66 is helping to make circularity easier to discuss in specifications. It gives project teams a framework for comparing products and asking more informed questions.

The scoring system considers different aspects of circularity, including materials, manufacturing and wider ecosystem factors, and claims must be backed by evidence. For Les, that evidence-based approach is one of the framework’s strengths because it helps prevent circularity from becoming another vague sustainability claim.

A TM66 score does not eliminate the need for deeper discussion, but it provides the industry with a more consistent starting point.

There is still work to do around education, particularly around how TM66 scores should be interpreted and applied in specification.

Is Circularity Becoming a Genuine Specification Requirement?

Circularity is not yet as embedded as energy performance, but it is moving in that direction. Les says Fagerhult is seeing more requests for TM66 information, Technical specifications are increasingly asking manufacturers to provide clearer environmental documentation, and circularity is appearing more often in project conversations.

This suggests that circularity is extending beyond manufacturers, with lighting designers, consultants and clients also incorporating it into their specifications. However, the market is still in transition. Energy performance is widely understood, easy to compare and closely linked to running costs. Circularity is more complex because it asks the industry to consider future use, ownership, maintenance, storage, warranties and end-of-life routes.

The Practical Challenges Ahead

The biggest barriers to circularity are often practical rather than technical.

Cost is one challenge. There can be an assumption that refurbishing a luminaire will be significantly cheaper than buying a new one. In reality, some of the most expensive components, such as LED boards and drivers, may still need to be replaced. That means the upfront cost difference may be smaller than expected, even if the whole-life argument remains strong.

Logistics is another issue. If luminaires are removed from a building, they need to be handled carefully, transported, inspected and potentially stored before reuse or refurbishment. On live construction and fit-out projects, that is not always straightforward.

Warranty can also be difficult, particularly where products are moved from one building to another without manufacturer inspection or remanufacture.

There is also a cultural shift to navigate, as many clients are naturally more familiar with specifying new luminaires than reused or refurbished functional lighting.

A Collective Industry-wide Effort is Necessary

Manufacturers play a major role because many circularity decisions are made at the design stage. They can design products for longer life, improve access to key components, reduce reliance on virgin materials, provide environmental data and support refurbishment routes.

But manufacturers cannot deliver circularity alone. “Even if manufacturers were offering the best solution, if nobody out there wants to use it, it’s not going to get used,” says Les.

Circularity has to become a shared responsibility, from clients valuing it and specifiers asking for it to contractors protecting products during removal and manufacturers supporting them beyond the point of sale.

From Circular Ambition to Specification Standard

Circularity is likely to become increasingly important in lighting specification, but its progress will depend on education, client demand and a clearer whole-life value case.

For Les, the next step is greater awareness across the full project chain, especially among end users. A luminaire may cost slightly more upfront, but if it lasts longer, can be upgraded, repaired and supported by the manufacturer, the long-term case becomes much stronger.

The turning point will come when circularity sits alongside energy performance, lighting quality, controls, cost and compliance as a standard part of good lighting design.

Circularity is moving from conversation to specification, and TM66 is helping give that shift structure.