IEC 1906 Award shines a light on Bryan King’s international contribution

NZNC President Peter Berry, award recipient Bryan King, IEC's Andreas Scholtz and SNZ's Steve Lowes

Lighting expert and executive director of Lighting Council New Zealand, Bryan King, has received the IEC '1906 Award’ in recognition of furthering standardisation of environmental aspects for lighting products and systems. The award was presented at an event during the IEC General Meeting in San Francisco in the first week of November 2022, which saw 1,800 participants come together from across the international IEC community.

Bryan has been recognised for his leadership within the TC 34 Lighting Committee and his work on environmental engineering for lighting products. The Award is specifically for the establishment and leading of an Advisory Group for environmental standardisation for lighting products, and for his role as sector-leader for the lighting community in the IEC strategy group, Advisory Committee on Environmental Aspects. Technical Committee TC 34 Lighting has 400 expert members worldwide.

The IEC is the organisation for developing technical standards for electrical and electronic products. Every year the IEC honours contributions of individuals with the IEC '1906 Award’ which recognises the exceptional achievements of its technical experts. Created to commemorate the IEC's year of foundation in London by industry icons Kelvin, Edison and Siemens, the prestigious award recognises exceptional achievement on IEC projects which contribute in a significant way to advancing the work of the IEC. New Zealand is a member of the IEC with Standards New Zealand providing the member representative National Committee with administrative support.

Bryan says, ‘It was a real surprise and delight to receive the 1906 Award. There are some amazing colleagues working in and heading IEC committees and being announced as an IEC awardee was a “Did I hear that right?” moment.

‘My goal is to be active in writing leading-edge technical publications and to bring this learning back to NZ so we can infuse in our building methods and codes and be right up with international best practice. A lot of technical drafting, debate and negotiation happens unseen, behind the scenes, and it can at times feel like boot-camp, but the outcomes are so worthwhile.

‘A very satisfying aspect of international standards work is, although a small country, NZ’s influence can be very significant, as the ‘one country one vote’ approach means that our voice can hold as much sway as large countries like US or China.’

Bryan’s work in the IEC has been supported by the Lighting Council New Zealand to enable New Zealand's participation and sector leadership in the IEC international forum. The work will be of much significance in the near-term for NZ lighting application, and for building designers, suppliers, consultants, and policymakers, by providing internationally agreed calculation, measurement, and auditing methods. Resultant standards will enable the delivery of a more circular economy, low-carbon, and environmentally-sound building outcomes for New Zealand.