As concerns about climate change and employee wellbeing continue to grow, there is an onus on prominent companies in all sectors of the built environment to illuminate the way to a more sustainable future, says Tamlite Lighting Managing Director John Allden.

The notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) – by which a company aims to act in a way that contributes positively to a host of broad societal goals – has been assuming ever-greater importance since it was first used in the 1960s. But it is arguably only in the last 10 to 15 years that the built environment as a whole has begun to take a more joined-up approach to the implementation of Wellbeing and Sustainability policies that have benefits within and without the scope of individual businesses.

This trend has gone hand-in-hand with the realisation that leading manufacturers in each sector have a responsibility to show good practice – and be seen to show it, too. Most importantly, companies who have this kind of leadership role have the power to show other industry players that not only is working in a more efficient way good for the environment and their employees, it is also great news for business.

As a prominent lighting manufacturer for more than 50 years, at Tamlite we are conscious of our broader duties to the industrial lighting sector. With the advent of improved fluorescent lighting fixtures and, latterly, highly energy efficient LED lighting systems, our awareness of the need to manufacture luminaires in a responsible way has continued to grow. Today, in 2019, we believe that these responsibilities fall into three principal areas: sustainability; wellbeing; and emergency lighting and other issues related to safety.

These areas are, by their very nature, moving targets, especially in the context of present fears about the accelerating rate of climate change, for example. The good news for electrical contractors is that by talking about these three important issues and working with manufacturers who have them at the core of their own business strategy there are opportunities for their business to grow too. As a consequence, end-users will not only benefit from reduced energy consumption and a better working environment, but they can also highlight their efforts in these areas and enhance their own public perception as organisations that take their social and environmental responsibilities seriously. It’s a win-win for the entire supply chain.

Waking up to wellbeing

Ultimately, a lot of this emerging corporate methodology comes down to long-term planning. The other most important facet of this is choosing building systems that are conducive to employee wellbeing.

With more and more of us expected to work into our late ‘60s or beyond, the need to maintain a strong and healthy workforce speaks for itself. At the same time, the data about working days being lost to illness hasn’t exactly been encouraging over the last few years. For instance, the HSE reports that 30.7 million working days were lost due to work-related ill-health and non-fatal workplace injuries in 2017/18. The vast majority of these lost days were down to stress, depression, anxiety and musculoskeletal disorders.

Fortunately, lighting is one specific area in which building managers and electrical contractors can make a real difference to employee wellbeing. Multiple studies have shown lighting that is too bright and/or dazzling, as well as inconsistent across different areas of a building, can lead to increased incidences of headaches and dizziness. The unsympathetic placement of lighting has also been linked with the creation of stressful working environments.

Lighting designs that comply with industry standards such as BS EN 12464 go some way to delivering improvements in terms of occupant wellbeing. And with the latest tunable systems, it is even possible to arrive at an installation that perfectly complements human circadian rhythms. In conjunction with control infrastructures, companies can benefit from lighting systems whose output and nature changes as the day progresses. Such systems can also be easily adjusted to take account of employee feedback.

As a leading provider of LED-based systems for the best part of 20 years, this area of wellbeing and sustainability in which Tamlite has consistently demonstrated its leadership credentials.

Emergency lighting essentials

Ease of ensuring that lighting meets legal safety requirements is another reason for contractors to partner with leading manufacturers. In many cases they will be best-placed to advise on the specification of emergency lighting, which is a legal obligation under the Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) 2005 and should be installed and tested in line with BS 5266:1 2016. Among other legislative measures, this means that in the event of a mains failure, the emergency lighting system will continue to provide adequate lighting levels and directional indication to allow the occupant to move safely around the building, and exit if necessary, without accident or injury.

As with several other sectors in the building technologies industry, lighting has been the subject of considerable change in recent years, with some newer suppliers emerging and others consolidating into larger operations. In this context a company like Tamlite – which has ridden out so many market shifts over its five decades – can offer the reassurance of a consistent approach. But our long tenure also means we have been able to develop coordinated strategies around all of the topics that define the wellbeing and sustainability agenda.

Partnering with us is the easiest route for contractors to guarantee that they achieve projects that are supportive of efficiency and employee health. And for the end customer benefiting from this approach, the reflected glory of success is likely to be significant and long-lasting.

This has been featured in the November lighting edition of Electrical Contracting News.