By Martin Vedris
SYDNEY: Royal Philips Electronics in The Netherlands announced a 33 per cent increase in its sales of Green Products in 2007.
As published in the company’s 10th annual Sustainability Report recently, all three Philips sectors — healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle — showed a significant increase in sales of green products in 2007, resulting in total green product sales of EUR 5.3 billion in 2007, compared with EUR 4 billion in 2006.
In September 2007, Philips announced its EcoVision4 program aiming to double sales of Green Products to 30 per cent of total revenues within five years.
In the Sustainability Report Philips indicated it is well on its way to achieving this target, with green product sales accounting for 20 per cent of total Philips sales in 2007, compared with 15 per cent in 2006.
“We are delighted that Green sales now already represent 20 per cent of our total revenue and that we grew green sales by as much as 33 per cent in 2007,” said Barbara Kux, who is a member of the company’s Group Management Committee and Chair of the Sustainability Board:
“All our sectors performed better in this area, and we are particularly pleased with the significant increases in sales of green products in the healthcare and consumer lifestyle sectors and the further balance and opportunity this brings to our businesses in established as well as emerging markets. Philips’ focus on green business will create economic value for the company as well as for society at large.”
The biggest increase for Philips was in the home lighting market followed closely by lighting solutions for retail outlets and street lighting as well as LED lighting. For example, Philips’ CosmoPolis street lighting system, has been installed in many cities in Europe and Asia since its introduction in 2005 and, according to the company cuts, energy consumption by 50 per cent. The first two installations of CosmoPolis in Australia are in the installation phase in New South Wales and Tasmania.
The Consumer Lifestyle sector reaped the benefits of a drive over the last year to improve the energy efficiency of its products across the board, showing a very significant increase of 91 per cent in sales of green products. Philips advised that some examples include the HTS8100 Soundbar with Ambisound, which reportedly uses 50 per cent less energy than its closest competitor, and the energy efficient LCD TV range of which some models reportedly use 36 per cent less energy than closest competitors.
Philips green products aim to offer a significant environmental improvement in one or more of the Philips Green Focal Areas: energy efficiency, packaging, hazardous substances, weight, recycling and disposal, and lifetime reliability, compared to similar products on the market.
Philips’ fourth EcoVision program, launched in September 2007, sets ambitious targets to double sales of Green Products to 30 per cent of total revenues by 2012, to invest EUR 1 billion in Green Innovation and to improve the energy efficiency of offices and production facilities by 25 per cent in the next five years.