Redditch MP visits lighting manufacturer to discover its sustainability ambitions

The Member of Parliament for Redditch, Rachel Maclean MP, dropped into Tamlite Lighting to learn more about the company’s successful measures to reduce its environmental impacts.

Mrs Maclean’s request to tour Tamlite’s manufacturing facilities was sparked by her interest in the company’s recent high-profile award commendations for its initiatives to eliminate waste and single-use plastics from its operations. Tamlite was recently a finalist at the Make UK Manufacturing Awards for the Midlands and East Region (Energy and Sustainability), as well as the Materials Recycling World (MRW) National Recycling Awards (Partnership Excellence – Commercial and Circular Economy Initiative).

Accompanied by Tamlite Lighting’s Managing Director, John Allden, Mrs Maclean was able to tour part of the extensive factory site to meet members working in a wide variety of roles across the Tamlite team. This offered a perfect opportunity to see first-hand examples of the company’s sustainable manufacturing best practice.

Mr Allden explained how Tamlite has adopted circular economy design principles. Many of Tamlite’s lighting products are now manufactured with the circular economy at the forefront of design, and the use of recyclable materials within its luminaires continues to be a major focus. One of its major success stories has been a 75 per cent reduction in plastic packaging – the equivalent to well over one million plastic bags since 2018.

Working with its sister company Waste Experts (part of the MRW Partner Excellence award commendation), Tamlite also offers customers a waste recycling service, whereby luminaires and lamps are brought back into the circular economy, or responsibly disposed of, to reduce reliance on landfill.

John Allden, Managing Director of Tamlite Lighting, said: “Rachel Maclean’s visit – which took place in the same week that the Prime Minister has restructured his Government to include a dedicated Department for Energy Security & Net Zero –was perfectly-timed. We are absolutely delighted to show Mrs Maclean the work we are doing to deliver on sustainability in our own operations – and we discussed the many ways that our actions impact on the sustainability ambitions of end customers and our wider supply-chain. Including, of course, our manufactured product offer which can see savings of up to 80% in electricity costs when substituting new LED lighting for historic light sources, such as fluorescent, in a commercial or industrial application:  a truly worthwhile investment during the current cost of energy crisis, delivering payback times of 2 years or even less.

“We are wholly committed to supporting the Government’s sustainability goals. We know that our lighting solutions can play a major role in the over-arching net-zero and circular economy targets over the next decades. Right now, our product portfolio of efficient lighting technologies is a critical piece in the jigsaw for mitigating the rising costs of energy through maximum efficiency. We all took great pride in sharing the work we are doing in this area with our very committed local MP. Mrs Maclean gave great engagement, showing a super understanding, and genuine interest in what we do as a UK manufacturer, and so her visit was sincerely appreciated and much welcomed.”