Freiburg
Lighttoolbox
Canton of Fribourg
Canton of Fribourg (Switzerland)
Develop and implement measures for sustainable light management together with Fribourg communities.
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Lighttoolbox
Tools for reducing light pollution and capturing the value of natural darkness
Bern, Switzerland
2016-ongoing
Clients
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), several cantons and others
Beneficiaries
Several municipalities
Key Partners
Nature Park Gantrisch
Mountain Wilderness
Light pollution, i.e., the unnecessary brightening of the night sky by artificial light, has increasingly become a nuisance for people and the environment in recent years. Unsustainable use of light sources such as neon signs, streetlamps, or sports field lighting can affect people, animals, and plants’ day and night rhythm and cause unnecessary costs for the community. Successful and sustainable lighting management, on the other hand, has the potential to save costs at the community level, increase the quality of life of community residents, strengthen animal and plant conservation, and even develop new and innovative tourism offerings.
Together with the Federal Office for the environment FOEN, the Nature Park Gantrisch and the NGO Mountain Wilderness, we recognised that light pollution was acute but that concrete solutions were rare. Therefore, we decided to develop the “Light Toolbox.” This toolbox facilitates the implementation aid of the FOEN for the prevention of light emissions. It thus promotes sustainable lighting management and the valorisation of night-time darkness at the municipal level. Within the pilot project framework and by applying the toolbox, we developed overarching, needs-based lighting concepts together with 16 municipalities of the Gantrisch Nature Park and accompanied them during implementation. Thanks to this work, we have enabled the communities to further strengthen biodiversity protection in the nature park, reduce energy costs and conserve valuable resources.
In the meantime, we have used the “Light Toolbox” in numerous projects beyond the pilot project, giving various municipalities easy access to the topic of lighting management.
We developed, validated, and finalised the Lighttoolbox from scratch in close collaboration with our partners and the end-users. At the same time, we led the process of piloting the toolbox, particularly the planning, organisation, and implementation of the so-called “Lighttoolbox Atelier/Workshop” and the accompanying support of the communities in implementing the resulting lighting concepts.
Explore and discover
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Accompanied analysis of the development strategies and regional business models of involved Swiss municipalities.
Empower
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Facilitation of the development of municipal lighting concepts and corresponding action plans.
Reach and connect
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Design, development, and application of the modular strategy consultancy service «Lighttoolbox».
Links to publications (In German)
- Introduction & Instructions: Light Toolbox – what is it?
- General information about the Light Toolbox
- Video about the Light Toolbox (1/19/2022)
Let’s work together!
Do you envision a world where municipalities lead biodiversity protection, resource efficiency and cost savings? We help you to find the right tools to achieve this!
Contact us