Sustainable Lighting: Which Labels & Certifications Should You Choose?
Labels and certifications can help you evaluate a supplier or lighting solution, provided you know what they actually demonstrate. A certification may pertain to a company’s management system, a label to its CSR approach, while other credentials relate directly to a product, a material, or its use.
For a lighting project, the goal is therefore not to collect as many logos as possible, but to verify their scope, validity, and relevance to the project. This approach helps distinguish documented evidence from overly broad environmental and sustainability claims.
Labels, certifications, standards: What are the differences for a lighting project?
A standard defines a framework or requirements; a certification attests to compliance with a given set of criteria; a label is based on criteria defined by its issuing body. These terms are therefore not interchangeable.
A standard does not automatically mean certification
Some standards contain requirements that can be certified by a third-party organization. Others serve as guidelines.
This is particularly true of ISO 26000, which addresses social responsibility: it provides recommendations and is not a certifiable standard.
When a company references a standard, it is therefore helpful to verify the exact nature of the recognition obtained and the body that issued it.
A certification must always be tied to its scope
A certification does not necessarily mean that a lighting display has specific environmental performance characteristics. It may pertain to the company’s organization, its management system, a process, or depending on the standard a specific product.
Before comparing two suppliers, asking these four questions can help clear up much of the confusion:
- Who is certified or has received a label?
- According to which standard?
- What is the scope covered?
- Is the certification still valid?
Evidence is genuinely useful when it provides precise answers to these questions.
The CE marking follows a different logic
For products on the European market, the CE marking indicates that the manufacturer declares the product to comply with applicable European requirements and that it has followed the required compliance procedures.
It is therefore neither an environmental label nor proof that one lighting solution is, on its own, more sustainable than another.
In tender specifications or when evaluating a bid, regulatory compliance, certification, CSR initiatives, and environmental performance do not address the same questions.
How can you verify the credibility of a label or certification?
A label or certification is useful only if its scope can be verified. Before including it in a comparison or set of specifications, a few simple checks can help determine its true value.
1. Identify the body that issues the certification
First, identify who conducts the assessment or certification. For ISO certification, for example, it is not ISO itself that certifies companies: certification is carried out by independent organizations. ISO specifically recommends verifying the organization listed on the certificate or requesting a copy of it.
2. Verify the standard used
The name of a certification mark alone is not enough. You must be able to identify the criteria or standard on which the evaluation is based.
This verification helps distinguish between an assessment focused on a company’s management system and a certification that directly pertains to a product, process, or service.
3. Check the scope
This is often the most important point.
A certification may cover an entire company, only certain activities of a lighting manufacturer, or a specific product (such as a light display or a specific product line). Before drawing any environmental conclusions, it is therefore essential to verify exactly what was assessed.
4. Check the validity date
A certification or label must also be up to date. The date it was obtained, any renewals, and the validity period help distinguish a current certification from outdated information still present in marketing materials.
What do Leblanc Illuminations’ certifications and commitments actually prove?
Leblanc Illuminations’ certifications and recognitions provide additional evidence of the company’s organizational structure and its commitment to responsibility. However, they should not be interpreted as environmental certification for each individual display.
ISO 9001: Quality and Process Control
Leblanc Illuminations has been ISO 9001 certified since 2014. This certification pertains to its quality management system: process organization, monitoring, customer requirements, and continuous improvement.
For a project owner, it therefore serves as evidence of the company’s organizational structure. It does not mean that a given product automatically has better environmental performance.
CSR 26000 Gold Level: A Third-Party-Assessed Approach
Leblanc Illuminations has achieved the Apave CSR 26000 Gold-level . This recognition evaluates the company’s approach to corporate social responsibility.
The wording is important: ISO 26000 provides guidelines on social responsibility and is not a certifiable standard.
Coq Vert: Participating in a Transition Movement
Leblanc Illuminations joined the Coq Vert Community in 2022. Again, this is not a product certification, but rather a complementary factor that helps assess the company’s approach.
When selecting a solution, these recognitions therefore serve as evidence of the supplier’s credibility. They must then be evaluated in light of the specific details of the project and the products actually selected.
What additional evidence should you request beyond certifications?
Certifications provide information about the company or a specific standard; they do not replace the specific details of the selected solution. For a lighting project, it is therefore necessary to supplement this information with details directly related to actual use.
Depending on the project, this may include:
- estimated power and energy consumption;
- conditions and duration of use;
- control options;
- the materials actually used;
- maintenance or reuse conditions;
- available information on end-of-life.
The goal is not to list as many criteria as possible, but to determine what is relevant to your project and what can be documented.
For example, Leblanc Illuminations can calculate the energy consumption of lighting displays and estimate the total cost associated with the project. For certain e-deco products, the documentation also specifies the use of bio-based, recycled, and recyclable materials, as well as an end-of-life regrinding process.
This information allows you to move from a general statement to evidence that can inform decision-making.
To explore these topics further, articles dedicated to energy consumption, materials, and responsible design allow you to examine each criterion in greater detail.
FAQ: Energy Consumption of Christmas Lights
How can you compare the energy consumption of two lighting projects?
You need to consider several factors together: total installed power, number of operating hours, and final energy consumption in kWh. Comparing only the number of decorations or LEDs does not allow for an accurate assessment of a project’s energy consumption.
Do I need to replace all existing decorations to reduce energy consumption?
Not necessarily. Before upgrading an installation, it’s helpful to assess the equipment already available, its power consumption, and how it’s used. Operating schedules, programming, and layout can also offer opportunities for optimization.
How do you estimate the electricity cost of an international project?
Once power consumption has been estimated in kWh, you must apply the electricity rate corresponding to the country and the specific contract. Therefore, there is no universal cost applicable to all projects.
When should lighting consumption be calculated?
Ideally, from the project’s design phase. This allows you to compare different configurations before installation. A post-season review then supplements this estimate with actual operating data.