IES和国际照明设计师协会（IALD）将可持续照明设计定义为“以对自然环境影响最小的方式满足视觉环境的质量需求”许多照明设计专业人士只将环境影响与能源使用联系起来，主要是因为能源因素在照明中占主导地位。照明系统的生命周期包括多个阶段，从原材料提取开始，包括材料加工、设备和部件生产、运输、使用、维护和寿命结束的所有阶段。 因此，在评估环境影响时，考虑产品生命周期的各个阶段的影响是很重要的。本文件旨在介绍可持续性的主题，介绍其要素，并解释其如何影响工艺和产品中的照明设计。

The IES and the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) define sustainable lighting design as "meeting the qualitative needs of the visual environment with the least impact on the natural environment." Many lighting design professionals associate environmental impacts only with energy use, primarily because energy considerations are so dominant in lighting. The life cycle of a lighting system comprises stages or phases, beginning with the extraction of raw materials and including all stages of material processing, equipment and component production, transportation, use, maintenance, and end of life. Therefore, it is important to consider impacts from all phases of a product's life cycle when assessing environmental impact. The intent of this document is to introduce the topic of sustainability, present its elements, and explain how it affects the design of lighting in process and product.