A Little Bit On Doing Our Bit For Sustainability

Plastic Free July may be over for 2021, but here at ambience our dedication to reducing all kinds of waste is something we think about all year round.

We’re making it easier to be green

Our story in this area began nearly 15 years ago when we launched a side project/initiative Energy Saving Lighting which gained a bit of national exposure with a fantastic feature on one of the national breakfast programs (that reminds me, we need to dig up the footage!)

Since then, over the years we’ve made a conscious effort to phase out plastic in packaging and made other initiatives that are coming to fruition. But we’re not perfect, and there is always room to innovate and get better, that’s why we’re always revisiting our offering and output to see ways we can improve and minimise our waste.

Everything from our Melbourne-designed luminaires, their packaging and the paperless documents that go with them have been created with a waste-free ethos in mind so we can do our bit for the planet.

Plastic-free packaging

You won’t find any plastic in andro packaging with smaller items housed in recycled paper envelopes instead of plastic zip lock bags. Recycled paper stuffing is used to protect the lights and of course our boxes are made with recycled paper.

The andro tubes were thoughtfully designed for both a snug fit and to be re-purposed for whatever you want to keep in them. We’ve also recently introduced packets of Australian Native seeds in andro orders – just add some potting mix to the tube and get growing.

scan for Instructions

If there’s one habit to come out of the global pandemic we’re living in, it’d be the widespread use of QR codes. We introduced these to our packaging mid 2020 to transition to paperless installation guides for our products and haven’t looked back. QR codes for everything!

Website Downloadables

Soft copies of ambience product catalogues are available for download so you can access all the info on our range offline. Not only does this avoid the need for printed versions, but it also means we can update these documents with new products, specs and imagery whenever we need to.

Goodbye to out of date and obsolete printed documents.

You can also find install guides on our website product listings if you need them after you’ve disposed of the packaging (and when we say disposed, we hope you’ve recycled it!)

ambience X free to feed

Earlier this year we partnered with Melbourne-based social enterprise, Free to Feed after a call out on social media for sponsors to help renovate their newly acquired but fairly run-down 800sqm Art Deco space (ahem, neighbouring ‘the world’s most beautiful Maccas’ 😉)

Naturally, we like doing good things for spaces and people using light, so this was a no brainer collab for us.

We donated our design time and provided a nice selection of both customised & discontinued stock (including a pair of custom solid brass luminaires) to illuminate the once “dark and dank space” as told by Free to Feed founder Loretta Bolotin.

It’s these kinds of initiatives that allow us to both help people doing great things in the community, while giving otherwise unused light fittings a new life. Everybody is happy and nothing goes to waste.

Read more on The Design Files – Fancy New Digs For Free To Feed

Proudly made with discarded light & metal waste and packaged in plastic-free recycled cylinder boxes.

Discover Andro

andro Made to Make a Difference

Whether it’s your space or footprint, the andro series is designed with ideas in mind. A marriage of masculine and feminine characteristics perfectly engineered into one harmonious and ambiguous form. But it’s what goes into the production and engineering that makes it even more impressive. The andro range is all about efficiency from start to finish. We commit to using as much recycled content as possible and develop the most efficient components and packing.

Made from a mix of recycled lighting waste, new waste and raw materials aids in a 95% energy saving opposed to lights manufactured from virgin materials alone. Andro is also engineered to get the maximum light for power consumption. Which means less fittings required for a space that in turn allows for better energy efficiency.

From design, manufacture, performance and packaging – andro is made to make a difference.

Sustainable efforts at our Bundoora warehouse

Reducing waste at our warehouse is next on our agenda with the introduction of these plastic-free alternatives:

100% Recycled Paper Hexcel Wrap to replace plastic bubble wrap
100% Recycled Paper Void Fill from the use of this clever contraption
Kraft Paper Tape to replace plastic packing tape

This is just the beginning of our sustainable and waste reducing journey, there’s lots more we want to do. When you use ambience luminaires on your project, know that we’ve considered all the ways to reduce our waste so we’re not passing it onto you or the planet.

Do you have any suggestions on how our products and services can be more sustainable?

Let us know!