Circular Lighting Live 2025: Lighting industry unites to drive real change in sustainability and circularity

Held in London and organised by Recolight, the event brought together more than 35 inspirational speakers and leading brands to explore how the industry can accelerate the transition to circularity. Delegates, sponsors, and speakers highlighted both the urgency and the opportunity for the sector to embrace circular design, reuse, and decarbonisation.

Doing Things Differently

A recurring theme was the need for collaboration between manufacturers, lighting designers, clients, and contractors, to deliver step change sustainability. Speakers emphasised that “doing things differently” requires trust, dialogue, and collaboration across the supply chain – and that misplaced perceptions of risk, especially with luminaire reuse, can hinder progress.

Key Trends and Technical Insights

Delegates engaged strongly with technical and regulatory themes, reflecting the fast-evolving landscape:

• Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) were widely discussed, recognising their growing importance in enabling transparent and credible product comparisons.

• TM65 and TM66 were acknowledged as important gateway tools for measuring embodied carbon and assessing circularity.

• Legislative updates provided delegates with visibility of new and evolving UK and EU regulations on sustainability.

• The importance of reuse, refurbishment, and the energy transition were repeatedly emphasised as drivers by lighting specifiers.

• Broader themes included decarbonisation, design for repairability, skills development, and other circular economy practices.

Nigel Harvey, CEO of Recolight said: “Circular Lighting Live this year was buzzing with ideas and opportunities. It was inspiring to hear of new approaches to tackling sustainability and the circular economy. It was particularly pleasing to note that there was a tangible desire to press on, in spite of the political headwinds coming across the Atlantic.”

What the delegates said:

The event drew backing from major brands including Signify, Sylvania Group, Glamox, KKDC, Prime Light Group, Prolojik, Thorlux Lighting, Trojan Lighting Solutions, NVC Lighting UK, Mymesh by Chess UK, SMART SYSTEMS UK, and ALBIS Distribution.

Feedback from sponsors and delegates was overwhelmingly positive:

• “Circular Lighting Live this year showed that meaningful change is underway… Business as usual is no good, we must challenge, and we must change.” – Gary Thronton, Nulty

• “An important conversation about circular design in lighting. Events like this are vital in helping our industry move from talking about circularity to embedding it as standard practice.” – Paul Beale, 18 Degrees

• “10/10 best year yet! Relevant & engaging topics… Circular Lighting Live was a vital catalyst in the evolution in these topics.” – Justine Walmsey, Signify

• “Prolojik was proud to sponsor Circular Lighting Live and be part of such an inspiring event. It was fantastic to be in a space where innovation, collaboration, and sustainability truly come together.” – Darcy Hudson, Prolojik

• “Circular Lighting Live was an inspiring event, full of passionate people driving change in the industry.” – Nicholas Holmes, Ambit

• “Circular Lighting Live is a great event that brings the industry together in a common goal. Positive and Inspiring!” – Nick Revell, Philip Payne Limited

• “Commercial lighting companies dedication to carbon reduction is an inspiration to KKDC, we feel that reducing waste and reducing carbon are both key, no matter on the industry sector or size.” – Tom Hall, KKDC

• “This event has established itself as a must attend event for anyone serious about sustainability within the lighting Industry.” – Mike Edwards, Verde Photon

Looking Ahead

Ray Molony, who co-organised the event and curated the agenda said “With sustainability now at the heart of lighting product development, design, and specification, Circular Lighting Live has become a vital platform for collaboration and innovation. By tackling barriers, sharing knowledge, and embedding circularity as standard practice, the UK lighting industry is leading the way towards a truly sustainable future.”