As sustainability continues to shape the construction and lighting industries, it is crucial for electrical contractors to understand key environmental assessment methodologies. Two important technical memorandums – TM65 and TM66 – play a significant role in evaluating the environmental impact of lighting products. However, they serve distinct purposes.
Understanding TM65 and TM66
What are the differences between TM65 and TM66? What is their relevance to emergency lighting, and how do they compare to Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)?
TM65 - Embodied Carbon Calculations
TM65 is a method for calculating the embodied carbon of building services products, including luminaires, heating systems, and other mechanical and electrical components. It provides an estimate of a product’s carbon footprint when a full Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is not available.
For emergency lighting manufacturers, TM65 is particularly relevant because our customers, including electrical contractors and consultants, often require embodied carbon calculations to assess the sustainability of projects.
The TM65 framework considers:
- The materials used in the product’s construction
- Manufacturing processes and energy consumption
- Transportation from production to the point of use
- Installation impacts on-site
TM66 - Circular Economy in Lighting
TM66 is a lighting-specific framework designed to promote a circular economy in the lighting industry. Unlike TM65, which quantifies embodied carbon, TM66 provides guidance and an assessment methodology to evaluate how well lighting products align with circular economy principles.
Key focus areas of TM66 include:
- Design for circularity – ensuring products are easy to disassemble and repurpose
- Remanufacturing potential – extending product life cycles
- Recycling efficiency – promoting sustainable material use
- End-of-life management – reducing landfill waste
While TM66 does not provide direct data for embodied carbon calculations, it demonstrates a company’s commitment to sustainability and responsible product design. Overall, while TM65 is valuable for project specifications, TM66 highlights a company’s broader, long-term commitment to environmental responsibility.
How Do TM65 and TM66 Compare to Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)?
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a comprehensive third-party-verified document that provides a full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a product, covering its entire environmental impact from raw material extraction to disposal.
What many people don’t realise is that the third-party verification process that ensures accuracy can differ with each Programme Operator, meaning different or conflicting calculations. While TM65 and TM66 provide valuable insights, they are not full LCAs like EPDs. However, when used together, TM65 and TM66 data can give a detailed picture of a product’s sustainability, making them a useful alternative when an EPD is not available.
At Ventilux we are committed to providing reliable TM65 data to assist our customers with embodied carbon calculations. Additionally, we support TM66 principles as part of our mission to drive sustainability within the emergency lighting sector.
For more information on how we integrate TM65 and TM66 principles into our emergency lighting solutions, contact the team today!
