Climate Action: Commitments at MLI NA Corporation

Technology and energy efficiency

To start with, we look at several aspects of lighting technology to remain competitive and sustainable. We have re-engineered all our products so that they offer the latest LED technology and help our customers save on energy use. We have incorporated smart lighting technologies, such as Hue and Casambi, to create a more holistic lighting experience. We continue working hard on research and development to stay up to date with the latest in light quality.

Why choose LED technology

For the past 20 years, LED light technology has become highly energy efficient, having evolved from 50lm/W to 150lm/W. This means that using LED lighting instead of traditional light sources (i.e., halogen, fluorescent, incandescent) can save up to 85% on a lighting energy bill. Moreover, thanks to the long lifetime of LED light sources (ranging from 25.000 up to 70.000 hours), the total costs of lighting over a lifetime are reduced significantly.

We stopped developing new luminaires with traditional light sources in 2012, and have since then, been on the journey towards a fully LEDified product portfolio. With 98% of our product portfolio already LEDified in 2020, we closed the gap by the end of 2021 with 100% of our portfolio LEDified.

You can see here below, the evolution of LED sales versus conventional lighting across the past 8 years, shown in percentages.

Smart lighting

LED technology is not the only factor that supports us in benefiting from a reduction in energy consumption, however. The way the light is dimmed and controlled also plays a big part. Controlling luminaires in the right way, allows us to use the right amount of light, at the right place, at the right time of the day. All things considered, smart lighting can save another 8-12% on lighting installation energy consumption.

Traditional dimming systems (such as 1-10V or DALI) offer possibilities to integrate sensors in automation systems, while remaining valuable solutions to control lighting. These dimming systems can be easily integrated in broader building automation systems such as KNX.

In 2016, we partnered with Philips Hue to step into the smart lighting world. This enabled the connection of architectural lighting to the Internet of Things, in fact, pairing lighting to countless sensors, switches, voice control devices, app controls, programmable routines, and to controlling luminaires when not at home, etc.

Next to Philips Hue, we joined more connected lighting platforms such as Casambi and Niko Home Control, thus broadening our range of smart lighting even more.

State-of-the-art technology

Our R&D department is located in our HQ in Roeselare, Belgium. Our engineers work daily on the development of products and technologies, using several tools like 3D modelling software, photogoniometer, heat test rooms, 3D printer and more, to design the perfect solution. Our R&D department closely follows all technological developments of LED and electronics. At Modular Lighting Instruments, we always select high qualitative and state-of-the-art-technology for our LEDs, LED drivers, reflectors, lenses, finishes, etc. When off-the-shelf solutions do not meet our requirements, we build the technology ourselves or we partner with trusted parties to deliver the quality we need.

Over the years, we have been investing in research and development on the quality of light: high CRI, high R9 values, our own development of highly efficient optics (ex. reflectors and lenses), low-glare solutions and flicker-free light.

ISO certifications

We have worked hard to receive two ISO certifications: ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. Both are about how the product is produced rather than just about the product quality itself. The ISO certifications are renewed every 3 years after a successful audit performed by a third-party organisation. Over the years, we have always strived to renew our certifications. As a reward for our daily efforts in both quality and environmental management, we have already been certified until the end of 2024 and plan to extend this in the near future.

ISO 9001: quality management system

This is a set of quality standards used by organisations to demonstrate the ability to meet the needs of clients and other stakeholders when providing products and services. Customer satisfaction is at the core of our business. Higher efficiency and better decision-making have a positive impact on people, processes, and costs, and also on the overall performance of the organisation and its impact on the environment.

ISO 14001: environmental management

This is part of a larger family of standards that help organisations to understand and minimise the impact of their operations on the environment as well as comply with environmental law and regulations. The requirements of ISO 14001 are part of the European Union’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).

Company cars

In 2020, we updated our company car policy so that only fully electric or hybrid cars are offered as part of the package. At the end of 2021, we have installed charging stations at our HQ for company cars as well as for visitors’ vehicles.

Carbon neutral operations

Our goal is to turn all our operations 100% carbon neutral by 2025. We have already done the groundwork to measure our company footprint and we aim to have a clear understanding of our impact on greenhouse emissions by the end of 2021. The following step will be to develop a roadmap to reach our goal by 2025. Until then we continue working with Signify’s climate action guidelines.

Local manufacturing in North America

We have made a commitment to operate locally as much as we can. As such we have invested in product development, resources, and infrastructure in the North American market. Thanks to our local manufacturing in Grand Haven, Michigan, and by using a more efficient order-to-delivery system, we have achieved greater flexibility in supply chain management and processes. This has clearly created a positive impact on our carbon footprint in a growing market.

Digitalisation

One of our strategic focus points is our digital roadmap. With respect to saving natural resources, we see digital as the best and only way to communicate with our global audience real-time, and to optimise processes and operations with our partners and clients worldwide. This has led us to opting more for a digital presence instead of attending countless fairs and events, resulting in innovative ways to interact with our stakeholders. Another direct effect of our roadmap has been the drastic reduction of print material, and the digitalisation of all our resources.