Nicola Kimm on Signify’s sustainability journey

December 09, 2019

Our head of Sustainability, Environment, Health & Safety, Nicola Kimm, talks about how she’s making and meeting ambitious sustainability targets for Signify

For the last five years, Nicola has been at the helm of Signify’s sustainability program. And, under her leadership, the company has reached the top position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 3 consecutive years and will become carbon neutral in 2020.

When asked how she feels about this success and driving such ambitious targets, she responded, “Well, it’s certainly challenging. We make very ambitious targets, and you can’t plan and orchestrate everything. There are all kinds of challenges along the way which take extra effort. Fortunately, we have a CEO who’s fully committed.”

Indeed, CEO Eric Rondolat is a keen advocate for sustainability, even recently calling upon business leaders to follow Signify’s carbon neutral commitment by 2030 at the latest.

Nicola’s own sustainability journey

Nicola has a background in ecology and engineering and a career history spanning 25 years, multiple industries and three continents.

“Having worked in areas like operations and development helps me to understand the sustainability challenges across different parts of the company.

I have a deep appreciation of nature. And I love the that my work has positive impact. We can measure this impact by thinking of it like this. As a company, we put in economic, social and environmental resources and we aim to create the most value and reduce impact, also along those 3 dimensions.”

A strong team

What kind of skills does it take to make change happen on such a momentous scale? “To do well in sustainability, you need to look at all impacts and all stakeholders, you can’t talk about diversity and at the same time have an issue with living wage in your factories. There are so many different topics coming together.

” In Sustainability, we’re able to juggle all the topics by having a diverse team with different interests and capabilities. I’m very proud of my team’s contributions. We are all very committed to raising the bar every year.”

But even with an all-star team, you can’t take on large challenges and get it right every time. Nicola is committed to transparency. “Transparency is a very important part of sustainability.

You need to also say where you’ve had setbacks.” I love that now, through social media, people can learn from the experience of other companies, what works well, what doesn’t. We can share the progress we’re making, as well as our challenges.”

Read more about Signify’s sustainability commitments here.

About the author:

Annie Macfarlane

For further information, please contact:

Signify Global Integrated Communications
Neil Pattie
Tel: + 31 6 15 08 48 17
Email: neil.pattie@signify.com

About Signify

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.

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