Energy + Environment

Recent climate action is going to increase clean energy technology deployment that will significantly increase copper demand.

Last week, President Biden signed the $750 Billion Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The new law addresses inflation, climate, energy, prescription drug policy, and corporate tax changes. Roughly $370 Billion are focused on combatting climate change, including energy generation and transmission, manufacturing, transportation, agriculture, and environmental justice. 

Significant climate action legislation is occurring at the US Federal level, as well as in Massachusetts and Maryland.

A recent article in Buildings Magazine examines the application of Biomimicry to sustainable products and building interiors.

Industry discussions about sustainable lighting are increasing, but what would sustainable product regulations look like? The European Union (EU) is far ahead of North America on sustainable product regulations, and a look at what the EU is doing gives one vision of where sustainable product regulations could go in North America.

Disruptive lighting technology consultant Peter Brown, recently wrote an interesting article in US Lighting Trends, about the potential of EV chargers to change the energy efficient buildings industry.

Vermont is the first state in the U.S. to ban 4′ fluorescent linear lamps.

The National Association of Innovative Lighting Distributors (NAILD) and its sustainable lighting committee recently published an open letter, detailing a list of concerns with integrated LED luminaires and a set of recommendations for the industry.

Resilient lighting can survive and operate during and after natural and man-made disasters. Don’t confuse “resilient lighting” with 90-minute emergency lighting, which is designed to get people out of buildings. Resilient lighting is designed to operate for days – or even weeks – after disasters and is part of a larger Resilient Buildings trend.