CRAIG LIGHT, GENERAL MANAGER, ASTRA STREET FURNITURE

Q What are the biggest challenges facing your industry right now?

A Some of the biggest challenges facing the public space industry in 2023 include: The continuation of government funding, supply chain issues, and environmental clarity and eco-product offerings.

While post-covid we saw a lot of funding being granted to the development and construction of new public spaces and outdoor environments in education and health facilities, this funding has slowed down in recent months. However, quality public and their amenity have never been more important to local communities.

In addition, over the last two years, all manufacturers and suppliers across the world have experienced unprecedented challenges with costs and lead times regarding the supply of products, raising the costs of materials and making it difficult for budget and timeline considerations across all projects.

Finally, as the world becomes more aware of the challenges facing the global climate, suppliers and contractors are increasingly being called to work with the architecture industry to help with lowering the carbon footprint of the products and services they provide.

Q What opportunities do you predict for the growth of your industry in 2024?

A We see a continuation of the move to cross-sectional outdoor spaces. An example of this would be a landscape design depicting an outdoor space that includes leisure and social opportunities, along with wet and dry play prospects, in addition to fitness facilities, and hospitality and retail offerings.

Q What eco-conscious initiatives is your industry considering or implementing to ensure environmental sustainability?

A The landscape architecture industry is experiencing increasing pressure to calculate and report on the carbon footprint of their projects. This is a lot easier said than done. However, we are seeing manufacturers and suppliers for all types of products and materials start to assist in this area by providing information on embodied carbon content of their products or materials.

To that end, Astra Street Furniture has released the unique Astra Carbon Footprint Tracker™, which gives architects information on various environmental measures of every product, including the carbon content score (embodied carbon or carbon content for a product, measured in kilograms of CO2 equivalent per kilogram of product mass), recycled content, and lifecycle expectancy.

Q In what direction would you like to see your company move over the next five years?

A Astra Street Furniture is striving to grow in the areas of ongoing product development and environmental initiatives. We aim to continue working with clients and designers to develop products that fit into the growth and change movements within the industry, to meet market need.

We will also focus on providing more environmental product information and reporting, through the continued development of the Astra Carbon Footprint Tracker™, particularly as we learn more about climate change challenges and environmental opportunities going forward.

Q What is unique to your company this is not being widely done by others in your industry and why is it valuable?

A Astra Street Furniture is unique in our ability to give architects and designers unparalleled access to data on the embodied carbon score of individual pieces of street and park furniture. The second thing is our lead time. An average landscape project has a program time frame of 6-8 weeks, yet the average street and park furniture suppliers and manufacturers have an average lead time of 8-12 weeks.

Astra guarantees a 1-week lead time on all our standard range, which covers over 1000 different types of furniture pieces, including seats, benches, bins, bin enclosures, table settings, shelters, drinking fountains and bollards. This capability allows us to aid in the completion of projects on time and on budget, better serving the communities in which they serve.

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CRAIG LIGHT

Craig Light is a dynamic business leader who thrives on innovation and growth. With 15+ years’ expertise in guiding teams and enterprises in product design, manufacturing and distribution, especially to the public infrastructure and landscaping sectors, Craig’s wealth of knowledge is an invaluable asset to the landscape architecture industry.