Enlightening Lighting

Metro Lighting offers custom lighting solutions fabricated onsite and a gorgeous selection of uniquely designed fixtures in their 3,000 square foot showroom. They are committed to the quality and durability of their products, as well as reusing resources, efficiency in their building, and supporting local businesses.

Metro Lighting is 100% solar-powered by a 21kWh solar array on the roof of their building. This system reduced Metro Lighting’s energy expenses immediately, will pay for itself in eight to nine years, and is an investment that will save over $12,000 a year in electricity bills. The estimated annual production of their solar array is 27,397 kWh, which translates to an estimated 32,876 pounds of CO2 avoided per year. This is especially impressive for a business that requires a lot of power to showcase lighting. The extraordinary feature of rooftop solar is central to their environmental leadership amongst peers in the lighting industry.

Metro Lighting implements an “Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy.” This Policy includes reducing waste at the source, buying recycled content products, saving energy, water, and other natural resources, avoiding toxics, contracting services from other green certified businesses, and following green building standards. For example, as part of this policy, they use corn starch peanuts and 100% post-consumer recycled content paper for packing and shipping. Additionally, they only buy safe cleaning products and avoid purchase of single-serving plastic water bottles.

Metro Lighting has many well-deserved recognitions for its products and facility, as they are a Bay Area Certified Green Business and won an Acterra Business Environmental Award. They are also a member of the Sustainable Business Alliance. In 2014, Metro Lighting launched their Bottle Collection featuring a new aesthetic of up-cycled chic. Post-consumer recycled liquor and wine bottles are collected in northern California then handcrafted into modern pendant light fixtures.

Metro Lighting believes in supporting local businesses to empower sustainability. They are a leader of Buy Local Berkeley, an organization whose mission is to build a strong, vibrant Berkeley economy. They are also part of the West Berkeley design loop, an alliance of locally owned building and home improvement merchants. They encourage other members of these organizations to become green businesses. With attention to quality in their products and business practices, Metro Lighting leads the industry in beautiful sustainable lighting, handcrafted in California.