Can modern infrastructure survive the combination of extreme climate stress and soaring utility bills? In this exclusive interview from London Climate Action Week, Alice Steenland, Chief Strategy, Sustainability & Marketing Officer at Signify, reveals how the world's largest lighting company uses connected smart technologies to build energy resilience, defend corporations against price shocks, and pioneer low-impact agricultural food systems. As the climate crisis continues to accelerate and create unprecedented pressure on global power grids, energy efficiency stands out as the single fastest and most cost-effective path to corporate resilience. Joining us at Sustainability Live: The Leadership Summit during London Climate Action Week, Alice Steenland breaks down how Signify is driving systemic change across 70 countries through intelligent, connected illumination. Steenland breaks down the commercial real estate challenge, explaining why outdated facility renovation cycles delay massive financial savings. She also sheds light on the future of green utility systems, explaining how digital lighting controls can ease the strain on aging power grids as cities transition to electric vehicles and advanced building systems. Key Takeaways: Instant Corporate Cost Savings: Commercial illumination can account for up to 30% of a city or building's total energy footprint; switching to connected lighting systems can decrease that specific overhead by 80% to 90%. Alleviating Power Grid Strain: Lighting is responsible for roughly 9% of global electrical consumption, meaning scalable efficiency upgrades have the unique potential to pull nearly 7% of total power demands off vulnerable power grids in real time. Overcoming the Renovation Bottleneck: Despite a clear and immediate return on investment during volatile markets, the primary hurdle to adoption remains legacy corporate renovation cycles where property managers wait to replace existing bulbs until they burn out. Climatic Food Security: Moving beyond commercial buildings, custom "light recipes" can replicate solar patterns indoors—enabling low-water, low-energy, and pesticide-free vertical farming that can safeguard local food supplies from unpredictable weather shifts.
