Intro to Sustainability Review - Issie Gilbert
The LIA’s ‘Intro to Sustainability’ course is a refreshing and educational source, not only to help with starting this process, but to fill in gaps of information and understand the problem.
During my Product Design degree, I learned about the importance of designing with sustainability factored into every step of the process. Since starting my career in the lighting industry, I have been educating myself through research, events, conferences, and discussions. However, after doing this course, I find all the loose bits of information are connecting and filling in missing pieces like a puzzle.
At Architectural FX, we have been on our sustainability journey for years, obtaining ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications along with TM66 on 2 ranges of products. We are always looking for opportunities to continue this journey. However, it’s hard to know what the next step is. The many topics and coverage from this course are a great way to get some guidance and find what is best for your company.
General course review
This course is a generalised overview of sustainability within the lighting industry. It provides you with a solid foundation of knowledge and resources to expand on and apply to your specific expertise, role, and company.
I’ve always believed in knowing surface-level knowledge of multiple topics rather than knowing everything about one thing. This course is the perfect example of covering a lot of topics with the main information you need to know when starting your sustainability journey.
My personal takeaways
- The number of topics covered was useful to understand the complexity of the topic. To walk away with a general understanding of each makes it easier to know where my company and I can improve.
- I found myself with questions as I was going through the course. The resources provided allowed me to quickly get the answers I was looking for and learn more about the topic.
- Having this course available online allowed me to complete it easily and at my own speed. With how busy and hectic work can be, if I had to give my attention elsewhere, I could jump back into it without any issues.
- Throughout the modules, there are images, diagrams, and interactive questions. As a visual learner, this helped me a lot with processing the information and making sure I understood it before moving on.
An overview of the course
Module 1: What is Sustainability
A general overview of Sustainability within lighting, including current proposals, acronyms and language that help explain the complexity of sustainability.
Module 2: Net Zero and a Low Carbon Economy
An explanation of global warming, carbon usage and the tools needed for measuring.
Module 3: Circular Economy
You can understand why there has been a growing call for more circular economy capable products and appreciate that circular economy is more than just repairing things.
Module 4: LCAs and EPDs
Life cycle analysis using LCIs, LCAs and outputting EPDs, is another example of sustainability's complexity.
Module 5: A Sustainable Way of Thinking: ROLAN
Looking at how product and design decisions create light pollution and see again how low capital cost was prioritised over sustainability.
Conclusion
If you're wanting to start your sustainability journey but are not sure where to begin, this course is the perfect way to dip your toe in. There is no step-by-step guide on how to start this process. However, learning about the issue is an easy way to begin. You'll walk away with knowledge on many areas of the issue past and present, future solutions, the correct terminology and how to assess your impact. There are continuous sources listed and further informative pieces to continue learning.
