ETAP starts the new year with a clear focus, i.e., a complete switch to circular solutions. In the coming years, we will re-engineer all products in accordance with a circular design and focus entirely on C-LaaS, which stands for Circular Light as a Service. In fact, an increasing number of customers are relying on ETAP to guarantee their lighting needs instead of purchasing luminaires or a lighting system. This fierce ambition will materialise in a new logo and a new strapline: tomorrow's light.
Building on leadership in energy-efficient solutions
“Sustainability has been in our company's DNA for decades,” according to CEO Dominiek Plancke. “For example, we are a trendsetter in highly energy-efficient LED solutions with long service life. This is the first step towards an energy-conscious, circular society, which means ensuring that lighting has to be replaced less often and that therefore fewer raw materials are needed."
“But our ambition reaches far beyond this. That is why we took part in the Science Based Targets initiative by The Shift and commit to achieving a 55% CO2 reduction by 2025. One of the ways we can accomplish this is with our solar panel installation, with an annual output of 500,000 kWh. Another example: through an investment in heat recovery, we save 63 tonnes of CO2 in our paint shop," says the CEO.
Full range to benefit from circular design
With the help of our solutions our customers will also be able to cut down on their CO2 emissions. In a renovation you can save no less than 80% in energy, thanks to our innovative LED solutions and light control systems. However, ETAP aims to go even further, and the full product range will get a make-over, which should result in the luminaires being easier to service, reuse or dismantle.
Dominiek Plancke: “In the spring we will launch a new version of the E8 luminaire for the food industry, which satisfies the design for circularity principles. All other products will follow. In this way we provide our customers with a guarantee of quality, energy-efficient, circular lighting with minimum impact on our planet.”
The next step: Circular Light as a Service
Over the past few years the number of Light as a Service projects has increased, in which ETAP is responsible for the development, production, installation and maintenance of a bespoke lighting project. “Approximately 15% of our turnover on the Belgian market now consists of LaaS projects. We see that more and more customers, both companies and public institutions, show interest in it,” according to Plancke.
The next step in this development is Circular Light as a Service, a concept that fully capitalises on the European Green Deal. “More than half of our projects involve the renovation of existing lighting. With C-LaaS we deliver smart and high-performance solutions, whereby we also provide efficient maintenance so that the customer no longer has to worry about anything,” the CEO continues. “Even if a luminaire breaks down or reaches the end of its service life, we will provide a replacement and handle recycling.”
"We obviously hope that this approach and the value it adds will also be given a chance in tender proceedings. Those who look at a circular investment across its entire lifecycle, are better off from the start, both in terms of cost price and ecological footprint.”
ETAP continues to invest in transformation
ETAP invests more than 7% of its turnover in research and development annually. Investments are also made in new technologies in production. Dominiek Plancke: "We are making our production facilities even more flexible and agile than before. This enables us to capitalise more quickly on specific customer requests and to process tailored solutions for circular projects more smoothly. And we will continue to invest in order to turn our products, services and the whole company into a leading player in circular lighting services.”