September 10, 2025
DLC Counters Recent Allegations With Mission-First Narrative
NAILD’s pointed accusations highlight concerns. DLC’s measured response offers counterpoints.
An article recapping a trade association letter published at 3:00 p.m. on the Friday after Labor Day would be expected to draw scant attention — maybe a polite shrug, if noticed at all. That timing usually signals a quiet burial of news, a pre-weekend data dump meant to vanish. But this past Friday was different.
That afternoon, Inside Lighting published a recap of an explosive open letter from the National Association of Innovative Lighting Distributors (NAILD), and for several hours, it felt like the lighting industry’s version of a scandal was breaking in real time. The click-throughs surged. Social channels lit up. No, it wasn’t a public brawl — this is the lighting business, after all — but in back channels, DMs, and long-running group texts, the conversation was anything but mild.
The letter itself, co-signed by NAILD President Matt Honson and Devin Wall of Louvers International, didn’t hedge. It accused the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) of acting with impunity, ignoring feedback, fueling light pollution, and monetizing compliance. It called for a five-year moratorium on product certification changes. And then, in language rare even for inter-organizational disputes, it asked DLC to exit the industry entirely by 2030.
It wasn’t their first volley. NAILD has voiced similar concerns before, through podcasts and advisory reports, but the tone this time was unflinching. And the timing? Surgical. Just as the feedback window for DLC’s proposed 6.0 specification was closing, NAILD said the quiet part out loud. In bold capital letters.
The DLC has responded, quickly and with unmistakable tension. The statement issued by CEO Tina Halfpenny rejects NAILD’s accusations and offers a contrasting narrative of engagement, transparency and public value. While the DLC’s words are calm and measured, the subtext is not. The rift between these two entities is real, and as the industry prepares for the most sweeping standards update in years, that divide has never felt more consequential.
Here’s a distilled breakdown of the core points in the DLC response that explicitly or implicitly counter NAILD’s accusations:
On Stakeholder Engagement:
NAILD’s Claim: DLC ignores industry feedback, cherry-picks stakeholders, and fired NAILD from its own advisory committee.
DLC’s Response:
- DLC “engages regularly and openly” with stakeholders, citing advisory committees, public comment periods, and direct outreach.
- DLC claims to have reached out to NAILD President multiple times and was told to communicate only with the Get A Grip podcast producer.
- DLC frames NAILD’s refusal to engage directly as “illogical and insincere.”
Translation: They argue NAILD disengaged, not the other way around.
On DLC’s Role and Mandate:
NAILD’s Claim: DLC’s nonprofit status is questionable; it's essentially a tollbooth extracting revenue under the guise of sustainability.
DLC’s Response:
- DLC defends its 501(c)(3) mission by pointing to its Qualified Products Lists (QPLs), used in over 700 rebate programs.
- They describe their role as providing “transparent, independent tools” that consolidate efforts across the industry.
- DLC frames QPLs as “minimum thresholds,” not market limitations.
Translation: Far from rent-seeking, they see themselves as infrastructure for market trust.
On Light Pollution and Environmental Harm:
NAILD’s Claim: DLC-certified products are a major contributor to light pollution and e-waste; LUNA is just a rebrand to cover past mistakes.
DLC’s Response:
- DLC says the new 6.0 specifications (first since 2020) are directly aimed at reducing light pollution and protecting ecological health.
- LUNA and other updates are framed as forward-looking adjustments, not corrections, but part of an evolving strategy.
Translation: DLC denies that past specs caused the harm and positions LUNA as a solution, not a cover-up.
On Innovation and Sustainability:
NAILD’s Claim: DLC stifles innovation and burdens manufacturers with costly redesigns that do little to improve actual outcomes.
DLC’s Response:
- DLC emphasizes the market’s shift toward controls, flexibility, and integrated systems.
- They argue the evolving standards support these trends and enable decarbonization, not hinder it.
- The organization cites the energy and emissions savings achieved through LED adoption — framing the standards as catalysts for innovation, not obstacles.
Translation: DLC sees itself as enabling the future of lighting; not dictating its past.
On Tone and Professionalism:
NAILD’s Tone: Confrontational, accusatory, and rhetorically aggressive; calling for DLC’s industry exit.
DLC’s Tone: Measured but firm, directly calling NAILD’s statements “hyperbole and falsehoods” delivered with “vitriol.”
- DLC dismisses the open letter as a distraction from “solution-driven progress.”
Translation: DLC wants the industry to view this as a toxic outburst, not a legitimate critique.
Below is the full response from DesignLights Consortium:
September 9, 2025
Thank you for reaching out for comment. Recent and ongoing public commentary has misrepresented DLC’s role and responsiveness while spreading inaccuracies that risk undermining the trust and collaboration the market depends on. We want to be clear: DLC engages regularly and openly with stakeholders through advisory committees, public comment periods, and direct outreach to manufacturers, distributors, utilities, and other partners. Constructive feedback is vital, and we actively seek it.
The hyperbole and falsehoods published by NAILD distracts from the real challenges of ensuring quality, advancing sustainability, and preparing for the next phase of innovation with lighting. The DLC team remains focused on advancing shared goals and working with partners who are committed to respectful dialogue and solution-driven progress.
After receiving inquiry letters signed by NAILD President, I reached out to him twice via LinkedIn and others at the DLC have tried to contact him through LinkedIn and his company, in Illinois. In response, the DLC received a letter instructing us to communicate only with the Get A Grip podcast producer and refrain from contacting NAILD’s President directly.
As an organization that regularly engages with stakeholders and partners in good faith, we find it illogical and insincere to decline our direct outreach.
A Shared Foundation
For context, it’s important to note the extraordinary progress the lighting industry has achieved in less than two decades. Together, manufacturers, distributors, utilities, and more have driven one of the most successful technology transformations in history: the rapid adoption of LED lighting. This shift has saved billions of dollars in energy costs, eliminated reliance on mercury-based fluorescent lamps, and ultimately reduced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
DLC is proud to support this progress by providing transparent, independent tools that help maintain quality and trust in the marketplace. Chief among these are the DLC Qualified Products Lists (QPLs). Accessed globally and required by more than 700 programs across North America, the QPLs provide validated performance data that represent minimum thresholds, not ceilings, to support innovation while ensuring consistency, reliability, and transparency. By consolidating efforts across the industry, the QPLs provide a reliable validation of savings for electric ratepayers and a manageable point of entry to billions of dollars’ worth of rebate programs across North America.
Evolving with the Market
Lighting, like all technologies, continues to evolve. With LED adoption now widespread, the market is shifting toward higher-performing replacements and more sophisticated controls that enable electrification and demand management. Customers increasingly expect not just efficiency, but quality and flexibility.
The DLC’s role is also evolving with these market dynamics. We continue to provide independent, transparent specifications and resources that help meet new challenges, from reducing light pollution and protecting ecological health to advancing control programs that give customers greater choice in how they manage energy use. These goals are inherent in our Solid-State Lighting (SSL) V6 specifications, the first change in requirements since 2020, which are set to take effect in January 2026.
The DLC team appreciates the feedback that we have received on the V6 specification draft, as well as ongoing insight from the Industry Advisory Committee, LUNA Advisory Committee, the DLC Technical Committee, our Members and Program Planning Working Group. Likewise, we contribute to more than 15 external committees facilitated by IES, NEMA, and ASABE and hold memberships with regional IES chapters, which also provide diverse industry insight and experience.
Looking Ahead
The lighting industry has a remarkable record of innovation and collaboration. Even as the market matures, opportunities remain vast. Efficient lighting, advanced controls, and integrated systems will be critical to electrification, decarbonization, reduction of light pollution, and customer empowerment. These are fundamental to our next specification (SSL V6) and QPL.
The DLC is committed to those opportunities and to partners who also value them. Vitriol spreads division, but collaboration delivers progress.
— Christina Halfpenny
Executive Director and CEO, DLC
