GREEN THINKING DRIVES CHANGE

Increased environmental awareness is shaping the lighting market of the future. This is an area in which market players can distinguish themselves and excel, which puts LightLab's green technology at an advantage.

There are two environmental issues that are of particular importance. First, there is a pressing need to reduce carbon emissions (i.e. reduce energy consumption). Secondly, it is vital that we limit the amount of mercury in circulation.

A large proportion of the world's electricity production today comes from the combustion of fossil fuels. According to the IEA (International Energy Agency) the OECD produced about 884 TWh (Terawatt hours) of electric power in December 2009. Approximately 68 percent of this production came from fossil fuels, 16 percent from hydro, 14 percent from nuclear power and only about 3 percent from alternative energy sources.

Not only do fossil fuels cause substantial carbon emissions, they also contribute to the emission of large quantities of mercury released during the combustion process. By reducing energy consumption we will therefore also automatically reduce mercury emissions.

Mercury - an environmental hazard

The environmental debate today focuses primarily on energy consumption and carbon emissions. In LightLab's view, however, public awareness of the fact that today's low-energy light bulbs contain mercury is on the rise, which will affect consumers' purchasing decisions to a greater extent. Spent fluorescent tubes and low-energy light bulbs cause significant mercury pollution due to incorrect handling.

Conventional low-energy bulbs are considered by many to be environmentally hazardous. In recent years, politicians and decision-makers have increasingly drawn attention to the risks of continued use of this technology. As a result, Sweden implemented a general mercury ban from 1 June 2009, although this excludes low-energy light bulbs. The reason for this exception is that there are not considered to be any realistic alternatives, although reduced energy consumption remains high on the agenda of politicians and consumers. There is, however, a ceiling to the amount (max 5 mg) of mercury allowed in any single bulb.