Together For Our Community

With more than half of the world’s population currently living in urban areas, public spaces have become more important than ever. Our Together For Our Community strategy focuses on 2 important areas to help achieve the UN's SDGs 11 and 15 and sustainable living for all:

1. the right lighting to preserve our natural environment;
2. lighting that has a positive social impact.

The right lighting to preserve our natural environment

The UN forecasts that 68% of us will live in towns and cities by 2050, meaning an additional 460,000 square miles of our planet will be urbanised.

As we need to share that space with forests, wildlife and insects, we design lighting solutions to ensure safety for people and also let wildlife survive and thrive. For used wisely, today’s technology makes it possible to minimise light pollution, while still providing ample illumination.

Protect our starry skies was the mission when relighting La Mongie in the heart of France’s International Dark Sky Reserve.
We delivered a smart lighting solution that uses 40% less energy, works well in snowy conditions and lets astronomers soak up the views of the Milky Way.

We supplied TECEO luminaires fitted with red LEDs (1870K) for Pålsjö Skog nature reserve, which is home to variety of wildlife, including several endangered bat species. Research has shown that some bat species avoid areas lit by white light as it can prevent them from finding food and water.

Calluna, Sweden's leading environmental consultant, has been monitoring the area for the past two years and its research has shown that the new lighting has not disturbed the bats' foraging activity - unlike white light.

When renovating Sybiraków Park, the council wanted to create a green lung in the city, where people of all ages could relax in safety after dark, with minimal energy costs. FLEXIA FG luminaires, fitted with FlexiWhite and controlled by Schréder EXEDRA allow them to do just that.

Approved by the International Dark-Sky Association, the FLEXIA FG directs all light to the ground. The FlexiWhite solution adapts the colour temperature throughout the night, from 3,000K to 2,200K to preserve the biodiversity while ensuring safety. 

Lighting with a positive social impact

Public lighting has a strong social role to play in any urban area. In line with the UN SDG target 11.2, we want our lighting systems to make a difference so we develop solutions that:

• Improve safety for all, particularly vulnerable people such as the disabled, elderly and children and especially at critical junctions like crossings. Lighting plays a vital role in helping them feel safe, secure and supported. 
  
  A great example is the city of Warsaw. In 2016, to address the high number of pedestrian deaths in road accidents in Poland, the city launched a plan to improve the lighting at pedestrian crossings in 12 districts by 2019. The new state-of-the-art LED luminaires provide the necessary vertical and horizontal illuminance, increasing visibility for both pedestrians and drivers and creating a safer, more comfortable and accessible night-time environment. More importantly, the number of pedestrian road deaths in the city has been reduced. 

• Improve the quality of life for citizens who want safe, welcoming and engaging public spaces. We deliver solutions that create vibrant and connected spaces where people feel comfortable so they can spend more time outdoors with friends and family, enjoying city life and all its amenities. 
  
  We were delighted to work with Valencia City Council to upgrade its entire lighting infrastructure to make the city more pedestrian-friendly for residents and tourists after sunset. It installed aesthetic, energy-efficient luminaires, controlled by Schréder EXEDRA, which have improved the night-time ambiance while eliminating light pollution for residents and reducing energy consumption by over 75%.

Over the years, we have also donated street lights to improve the quality of life in economically less-privileged areas or to help disaster-stricken zones. 
In 2021, we took a decision together with the Schréder family, to take a more structured approach to our philanthropic purpose by setting up a global fund in cooperation with the King Baudouin Foundation: the Schréder Together Fund.
Our goal is to work with non-profit organisations to support the communities in which we live and operate.

One example of a community lighting project was in South Africa, where we donated solar lighting on robust glass fibre-reinforced polyester (GRP) poles to Tshinapfene village.
The luminaires have sufficient autonomy to cater for up to two continuous overcast or rainy days, to continue reliable night operations.
Effective street lighting means everyone feels safer so women and children can walk around freely at night and kids can even play football.

To find out more, read our 2023 Sustainability Report.