Our environmental footprint
The significant issues for our company – and our industry – in the environmental area continue to be energy efficiency, chemical content of products, and collection and recycling. We remain committed to giving our full attention to these challenges despite the economic downturn. To reduce our ecological footprint we are maintaining our focus on overall environmental performance improvement, driven by our EcoVision III and EcoVision4 action programs. Working with stakeholders we aim to share expertise and co-create innovative solutions that will make a difference to future generations.   Philips is dedicated to improving the ecological performance of its products and processes, setting stretch targets to meet these challenges. With our EcoVision4 program we focus on energy and material efficiency over the entire product lifecycle, as well as in our daily operations. By 2012, Philips will generate 30% of total revenues from Green Products, have doubled investment in Green Innovations to a cumulative EUR 1 billion, and improved our operational energy efficiency by 25% and reduced CO2 emissions by 25%, all compared with the base year 2007. Green ProductsIn the third year of EcoVision4, Green Products already represent a significant share of our revenues in all the markets we serve. In fact Green Products grew 19% in 2009, during a time of declining overall sales. To raise the bar we are going beyond our original target, aiming for 50% in 2015. We use the Philips Green logo to identify an increasing number of our Green Products. To further increase awareness and encourage individuals to make smart daily choices, we relaunched our asimpleswitch.com website. Green InnovationsBecause sustainability is a strategic innovation driver for Philips, we regularly review our research portfolio from a sustainability angle. A few examples: the world’s first OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode)-based, interactive lighting concepts for consumer and professional use; TVs that carry the EU Ecolabel; and our DoseWise radiation management that ensures optimal image quality while protecting people in X-ray environments. Operational energy efficiency2009 saw a step change in our efforts to reduce operational CO2 emissions. In addition to continuing our systematic Energy Potential Scans, green lease car policy and global green IT program, new initiatives include a green purchasing policy and investigating options to buy and generate renewable energy.
  We are committed to continuously improve the ecological performance of our products throughout their lifespan. Knowing that our influence on the environmental performance of our products does not end at the time of sale, we are focused on effectively managing collection and recycling initiatives; exploring the concept of Cradle to Cradle, searching for innovative products, processes and services that (re)use materials effectively; and protecting human health and the environment through earlier identification and targeted phase-out of certain chemical substances. Collection and recyclingWe consider end-of-life during our EcoDesign process and are active in improving the environmental performance of collection and recycling compliance schemes, particularly in the EU. We expanded the voluntary collection and recycling services started in 2008 in India and Brazil, and also launched them in Argentina during 2009. Philips supports the development of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) legislation that creates a level playing field based on fair and transparent financing mechanisms, and stimulates maximum collection and responsible recycling. We support the general concept of Individual Producer Responsibility and collaborate with stakeholders to find practical and fair solutions for its implementation. We also support legislative processes in countries like India and China, and we signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Thailand supporting WEEE legislation. Cradle to CradleWe launched our first Cradle to Cradle-inspired product, the Performer Energy Care vacuum cleaner, made partly from recycled and bio-based plastics. Chemical content of productsTo support EU REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical) compliance, Philips participated in developing ‘Bill of Material (BOM) check’, an industry platform for suppliers to provide chemical information on the items they sell. BOMcheck also facilitates RoHS (Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment) compliance. By providing full material declaration, BOMcheck also supports EcoDesign and our phase-out of BFRs and PVC in consumer products. Following a pilot in 2009 we plan a full roll-out to suppliers in 2010.
| ||||||||||
