Businesses and offices lose 725 million Euro annually due to their use of wasteful fluorescent lighting. This is an amount of unnecessary CO2 emissions which is comparable to the yearly emissions of one million cars. That is why Stichting Natuur & Milieu (the Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment) started a campaign in November.
The challenge of this campaign is to replace 100.000 old fluorescent lights with energy-efficient lighting within one year. Natuur & Milieu cooperates with the social enterprise GreenFox and sustainable energy company Eneco to realize this.
Replacement
Dutch companies are estimated to still have around 25 million old-fashioned fluorescent light boxes in their buildings, containing 2 lamps each. This illumination is easily replaceable by state-of-the-art energy efficient lights, which save up to 40%. “We want to replace 100.000 light boxes. That will reduce CO2 emissions by an amount equal to 3.300 cars on Dutch highways. That means we will save over 2 million Euros per year,” said Olof van der Gaag, director of Campaigns at Natuur & Milieu.
Especially large (government) offices, care institutions, and car parks use a lot of lighting. The possibilities for reduction are enormous. The RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre already replaced 7500 light boxes. They now save €150.000 and 1000 tonnes of CO2 annually, and will earn back their investment within 4 years. The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment will earn back their investment in only 2.5 years. Care institutions can also expect to reduce their energy bill by almost half.
Savings
The replacement of all outdated company lighting adds up to 16 percent of the total energy saving agreed upon in the Energy Agreement. It’s a simple measure with great effects.
Companies that switch from outdated fluorescent lighting to energy-efficient lighting can earn back their investment in two or three years. At the same time, it helps them adhere to the Environmental Management Act, which requires companies and institutions to take energy-saving measures if they can earn back their investment within 5 years. The Energy Agreement aims to become more strict in the enforcement of this law. The replacement of wasteful fluorescent lighting is included in the list of recognized measures and falls under the requirements of the Environmental Management Act.