2nd May, 2023
The climate emergency is undoubtedly the biggest challenge of our age. In this crucial decade, events like the annual COP act as milestones along the way, drawing strong headlines but often falling short of producing the results needed.
Earth Day on April 22, 2023 was another milestone in the climate calendar, but its goal is a little different, focusing on joining the voices of individuals in support of responsible consumer choices, cleaning up our footprint on the natural environment, and applying citizen pressure to governments and decision makers.
For many years, Signify has championed the transition to LED lighting, a greener technology that is superior on every level for almost all applications. To observe Earth Day, Signify employees demonstrated the ease of this transition in a short video.
Switching a conventional light to an LED equivalent is a fast, low-cost intervention that saves energy from the moment it’s done. The lamps last longer, cost less to run, contribute fewer emissions, and offer superior control. And yet, 35% of the world’s light points are still using outdated conventional lights. Ironically, individual consumers are leading the way, often adopting LED faster than many businesses and governments.
If businesses and cities around the globe join the “green switch” to LED lighting, we can collectively reduce our carbon footprint by more than 500 million tons of CO2, the amount of emissions that 25 billion trees could sequester in a year. Making the switch would also generate electricity savings of 1,132 TWh – that's the annual consumption of more than twice the number of households in Europe.1
The impact of efficient lighting is huge, but time is short. Each of us not only needs to act to reduce our own carbon footprint in any way possible, but also to encourage the businesses we work for and the cities we live in to do the same.
1Data presented here is a simulation within the framework of the Green Switch conventional light point conversion model, which is a program run by Signify to help its customers accelerate the switch to energy-efficient lighting products, systems and services. All figures and data presented here are illustrative and based on forecasts and assumptions.
Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals, consumers and the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. In 2023, we had sales of EUR 6.7 billion, approximately 32,000 employees and a presence in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for seven consecutive years and have achieved the EcoVadis Platinum rating for four consecutive years, placing Signify in the top one percent of companies assessed. News from Signify can be found in the Newsroom, on X, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors is located on the Investor Relations page.