Goal
To eliminate the purchase of inefficient lighting and high mercury content lighting in New York State facilities and require highly efficient lighting, including the use of mercury-free LED technology when possible.
Background
Executive Order No. 88, issued on December 28, 2012, directed state agencies to decrease energy consumption in state buildings by 20 percent in seven years. This directive, coupled with Executive Order No. 4 and statistics from the United States Department of Energy indicating lighting is the largest source of electricity consumption in commercial buildings, provide an awareness of the potential opportunity in energy efficiency. By procuring highly efficiency lighting, large cost-savings and emission reductions may be realized across state government.
Highly efficiency lighting with little or no mercury content is now widely available to meet the state’s sustainability directives.
Guidance
Lighting upgrades and retrofits can be performed in different ways. Frequently facilities conduct lamp or ballast change-outs without changing out complete fixtures. It is recommended that all options be considered when changing out lighting. This specification is broken out into fixtures (A), ballasts (B), and lamps (C).
Specifications and recommendations are unique in these areas, though universal specifications and recommendations precede the specific breakouts. Please read the universal specifications and the specifications related to the fixtures, ballasts, or lamps being considered.
Packaging
Packaging shall comply with Environmental Conservation Law section 37-0205. Packaging shall not contain inks, dyes, pigments, adhesives, stabilizers, or any other additives to which any lead, cadmium, mercury, or hexavalent chromium is intentionally added or contain incidental concentrations of lead, cadmium, mercury or hexavalent chromium which together are greater than 100 parts per million by weight (0.01%).
New York State encourages affected entities to adopt the following in order of preference when purchasing items that come in packaging:
- Items that do not need packaging, or the packaging is part of the product.
- Items that come in reusable packaging.
- Items that come in bulk packaging.
- Items that come in innovative packaging that reduces the amount of packaging.
- Items that come in packaging that remains the property of the supplier and does not become the property of the end user under any circumstance or condition. The vendor shall certify that the packaging material will be reused, recycled, or composted, and managed in compliance with applicable local, state, and federal laws.
- Items that come in packaging that maximizes recycled or biodegradable (compostable) content and/or meets or exceeds the minimum post-consumer content level for packaging in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines. Biodegradable products should only be used in areas where a composting facility exists that accept the material.
- Items that come in Packaging that is recyclable or biodegradable (compostable). Biodegradable products should only be used in areas where a composting facility exists and will accept the material.