Illuminate
The LightArt Blog
Sustainable & Beautiful Lighting
LightArt and parent company, 3form are excited to share a poignant platform of earth- and people-centric initiatives focused on three main pillars: people, product, and planet.
The Align program represents the culmination of our joint effects to pursue environmentally & socially responsible design. LightArt strives to develop lighting with intentionality that empower architects, designers, and consumers to make smart choices about how they buy and build.
The three pillars–people, product, and planet–translate into practices: Optimizing current offerings and establishing protocols for the products of the future–not only reducing the companies’ footprint, but contributing to the restoration of our planet and the betterment of human lives. Responding to this moment of urgency, Align is the next step toward net-positive manufacturing within the companies.
Today we have several significant policies already in place: Protecting the health and wellness of employees, clients, and the people involved in their supply chain, the companies utilize Declare labels for ingredient disclosure, and GreenGuard certification for indoor air quality assurance. By eliminating the use of Red List chemicals, many of our products qualify for the rigorous standards in Living Building Challenge, LEED v4.1, and WELL building challenges.
Our parent company 3form is a founding member and leader of the Living Product 50 (LP50)–a group of forward-thinking companies like Humanscale, Teknion, and Shaw, who are defining, adhering to, and promoting the rigorous benchmarks of the ILFI’s Living Product Challenge (LPC). This comprehensive framework is the peak standard for developing products that are healthy, socially responsible, and give back to the environment. Exemplified in the 2019 release of material solution Flek, made from approximately 75% pre-consumer recycled content, 3form continues to invest in research and bold thinking, pushing towards net-zero manufacturing.
3form developed its Full Circle program to support artisans and their communities worldwide, creating micro-savings infrastructures, midwifery education, and adult literacy programs. We invest in fitness and wellness programs, an annual GreenWeek celebration, and monthly sustainability challenges and continuing education.
We are continuing our commitment to creating transparency in the industry, by measuring and reporting our environmental impact through life cycle analyses, Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and other disclosures.
We're currently in pursuit of the Living Product Challenge and other respected third-party verifications. Our investment in research and innovation are baked into their pursuit of zero-waste manufacturing, which is one of several steps taken towards creating net-positive products. Other steps include reducing their products’ embodied carbon and water usage, as well as an investment in a take-back program, preventing materials from ending up in a landfill.
Under the guidance of Align, we aim to create net-positive products that will leave our planet in better condition. They intend to design and manufacture products in ways that protect, nourish, conserve, and restore the planet–all of which is scientifically quantified and independently verified.
These lofty and urgent goals are central to our culture–they see their products and influence as a means to a better world. That’s part of why we're working toward JUST certification—a nutrition label for socially fair organizations, earned in part by ensuring equitable, healthy, and transparent workplaces.
As a recognized pioneer in bringing transparency to the marketplace, beginning with our position as a pilot manufacturer in Google’s Healthy Materials initiative, we continue to push for more health and sustainability disclosures and educate our clients accordingly with Continuing Education (CEU) program. Our flagship goods are manufactured in North American facilities and with the sustainability initiatives under Align.
Products meeting the Align standard will be labeled with the Align stamp–an instant indicator of responsibly designed products, some carrying industry certifications such as Living Product Challenge, EPDs, Declare labels, and GreenGuard Gold. This allows architects and designers the opportunity to meet LEED v4.1, WELL and other green building challenges easily and transparently.