How Bluetooth is creating a more sustainable world

Sustainability is crucial for preserving our planet and ensuring a healthy future for generations to come. Lighting alone accounts for nearly 15% of global electricity consumption. The retail industry relies heavily on paper-based price tags and signage that contribute to millions of tons of paper waste each year, much of which is not recycled. And the lack of visibility in supply chains leads to spoilage, delays, and inefficiencies, particularly with temperature-sensitive goods like food and pharma.

Through innovative applications like electronic shelf labels (ESLs), networked lighting control, and smart labels as well as supporting battery-free devices thanks to advances in energy harvesting and the ambient IoT, Bluetooth is driving sustainability and helping businesses optimize resources, reduce waste, and contribute to a greener economy. In the retail sector, ESLs replace millions of paper tags annually, streamlining operations while saving valuable materials. Smart labels enable the real-time monitoring of supply chains, ensuring optimal conditions for perishable goods and reducing spoilage.

of retail employees still rely on paper-based audits, leading to operational inefficiencies

Source: ABI Research, 2025

of global food production is lost or wasted, with much of it spoiling during storage and transport due to inadequate monitoring

Source: The World Economic Forum, 2025

Bluetooth® Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL)

ESLs are small, battery-powered displays that digitally present pricing and product information at the shelf edge, replacing traditional paper labels. Bluetooth® ESLs help eliminate billions of paper shelf tags, minimizing ink and plastic usage and reducing paper waste by thousands of pounds per store annually. Bluetooth ESLs also allow retailers to implement accurate, multi-channel pricing strategies, highlight product details, and direct restocking (digitally and in real time), improving store operations and providing a better shopping experience.

Bluetooth® ESLs will ship annually by 2029 (4.2x growth from 2025)

Source: ABI Research, 2025

reduction in time spent on price updates after implementing ESLs

Source: Deloitte, 2022

month retailer-reported ROI on ESL deployments

Source: Forrester Consulting, 2022

Bluetooth® Networked Lighting Control (NLC)

NLC systems are intelligent networks made up of individually addressable, sensor-rich luminaires and control devices that communicate wirelessly to optimize lighting performance. Bluetooth® NLC solutions significantly reduce energy consumption through more efficient lighting control by enabling occupancy sensing, daylight harvesting, and advanced scheduling. These systems strategically optimize energy usage and extend the lifespan of lighting fixtures to reduce costs and environmental impacts. Bluetooth NLC networks can also integrate with critical building systems like HVAC for environmental sensing to enable further energy efficiencies and savings.

Interoperability, vendor choice, and long-term flexibility are the core advantages of Bluetooth® Networked Lighting Control (NLC). For building owners and facility managers, these are essential for implementing energy-efficient strategies at scale with confidence in their investment security. Unlike proprietary solutions that lock customers into specific ecosystems, Bluetooth® NLC fosters competition, leading to lower prices, faster innovation, and broader market adoption. The open-standard approach is not just shaping the future of lighting control — it makes sustainability more accessible across commercial buildings worldwide.

Rafal Han, CEO of Silvair
energy savings can be achieved in commercial buildings by integrating smart networking lighting controls in place of traditional systems

Source: Lighting Controls Association, 2023

of all electricity produced worldwide is used to power artificial lighting

Source: Signify, 2023

Bluetooth® smart labels

Smart labels are flexible, printed electronic devices embedded with wireless communication capabilities, designed to track and transmit critical information about goods throughout the supply chain. Bluetooth® battery-free, smart-label solutions optimize supply-chain logistics, improving inventory management and reducing waste. By transmitting critical data, such as temperature, humidity, inventory, location, and priority of use/sale, they help avoid spoilage and ensure the delivery of fresher goods with minimized loss.

Bluetooth® smart labels will ship annually by 2029

Source: ABI Research, 2025

of supply chain leaders seek technology solutions to increase operational efficiency, improve production and delivery speeds, and automate repetitive tasks

Source: Fictive’s State of Manufacturing Report, 2024

SPOTLIGHT

Ambient IoT

The Ambient Internet of Things (IoT) is a new class of IoT devices primarily powered by harvesting ambient energy from radio waves, light, motion, heat, or other viable ambient energy sources. By relying on energy harvested from ambient sources, Ambient IoT devices make it possible to develop lower-cost, smaller, and maintenance-free solutions, allowing the IoT to become more scalable in existing use cases and use cases still to be developed.

Bluetooth® LE is the go-to technology for the Ambient IoT. It supports low integrated circuit (IC) costs, flexible topologies, and the lowest-power IoT protocols to sustain battery-free device operation. And, with more industries turning to IoT solutions, there is a greater focus on the environmental impacts of discarded batteries, making Bluetooth® Ambient IoT solutions an ideal choice for combating electronic waste. 

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