Signify Shares New Analysis Regarding Circular Design
The University of Oxford examined real-world lighting projects to assess the business benefits of circular approaches in lighting design.
Just in time for the 2026 UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) taking place from November 9-20 in Turkey, the Netherlands-based Signify has published an analysis of real-world lighting projects that was conducted by the University of Oxford’s Circular Economy and Sustainability Lab and Academics for Circular Economy e.V., with support from Signify.
Researchers analyzed 50 real-world lighting projects that applied circular approaches. Of those 50, 37 projects – nearly 75% of those studied – reported capital, maintenance or financing benefits. The findings show that the next phase of the energy transition must go beyond energy savings to preserve resources, infrastructure, and economic value.
Rethinking full replacement
As Signify pointed out, hospitals cannot simply close a ward to upgrade lighting, and airports must keep operations running during modernization. In tunnels, replacing every component can mean costly work that extends far beyond the lights themselves. Yet full replacement is often the default when technology changes.
Oxford’s recent analysis suggests an alternative: assess what is already in place, upgrade what needs improvement and retain what still works.
Key findings
The projects studied spanned 10 sectors that included hospitals, schools, airports, offices, ports, tunnels, and municipal infrastructure. Across the 50 projects, researchers discovered circular approaches were associated with:
• Lower capital or maintenance costs in 37 projects
• Extended asset life in 31 projects
• Retention of assets or materials in 26 projects
• Avoidance of downtime or disruption in 23 projects
• Avoidance of full replacement in 20 projects
Energy savings were also reported in 36 projects, with a median reduction of 59.5%.
Explained Mario Giordano, Global Head of Public & Government Affairs at Signify, “Innovation should not automatically mean replacement. The real measure of circularity is our ability to deliver better outcomes with fewer new resources. When poles, cables, housings, and other infrastructure are still fit for purpose, the most sustainable upgrade is often to build on what is already there.”
The hidden costs of full replacement
Lighting upgrades involve more than a new light source. Installations can include housings, drivers, optics, wiring, controls, and mounting systems, plus poles, cabinets, and other outdoor infrastructure.
Replacing an entire installation can mean discarding working components and adding construction, installation and disposal work.
This illustrates the business implications across sectors. Dublin Port Tunnel upgraded approximately 1,800 light points within its existing infrastructure; Signify estimates that the approach resulted in €3 million [roughly $3.35 million U.S.] in capital savings compared with installing a completely new LED system.
Assessing whole-life value
Circularity does not mean retaining equipment indefinitely. It means choosing the most effective solution based on performance, cost and whole-life value, whether through repair, retrofit, refurbishment, reuse or replacement.
Noted Priya Saikumar, a doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford, “This is not an argument against replacement. It is an argument against making replacement the starting point. The smarter question is: What do we need to improve, and what can we retain?”
Overcoming systemic barriers
The analysis finds that barriers to circular approaches are often systemic rather than technical. Product design; limited access to spare parts and repair information; and gaps in financing, ownership arrangements, data, and expertise can prevent viable solutions from scaling. Procurement focused on upfront costs, along with limited reuse channels and reverse logistics, can create further obstacles.
To address these barriers, the report calls for greater collaboration between industry and policymakers and for procurement approaches that recognize whole-life value, upgradeability, and the value of retained infrastructure.
Added Signify’s Giordano, “That’s why Signify created Signify Circle: a program that puts the white paper’s circularity principles into practice. It combines circular design, spare parts, upgrade kits, lifetime optimization, and Light-as-a-Service to keep lighting products and components in use longer and preserve their value. By bringing these elements together, Signify offers end users and specifiers a clearer framework for choosing solutions based not only on product characteristics but also on how they are designed, maintained, upgraded, and used throughout their life cycle.”
Building on energy efficiency with resource efficiency
The shift to LED lighting has demonstrated the benefits of energy efficiency. The next opportunity is to use resources more efficiently: extend asset lifetimes, reduce demand for virgin materials and preserve the value of existing infrastructure.
As electrification accelerates worldwide, lighting offers a clear lesson for modernization: achieving better performance does not always require replacing an entire system.
To read the report in full, click here
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