Philips Lighting Announces Integrated Approach to Sustainable Solutions

Royal Philips Electronics' North American lighting division today at Greenbuild 2003 announced its integrated approach to sustainable lighting solutions. Using the "3 Rs" guideline set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Division of Solid Waste Management, Philips affirmed its endorsement and outlined its employment of "reduce, reuse and recycle."

• Reduce:  Philips ALTO(R) fluorescent lamps combine the lowest mercury content with long life and energy efficiencies - which together help achieve sustainability:
        --Low Mercury: Philips ALTO lamps average 70 percent less mercury than the 2001 industry average for fluorescent lamps up to 60 inches that are not TCLP compliant. Source reduction during the
  manufacturing phase is essential to mercury management throughout
  the product lifecycle.
       -- Long Life: Philips ALTO T8 lamps achieve 50 percent longer life than standard T8 lamps, reducing the need for maintenance and
  replacement.
       -- Energy Efficiency: Because lighting, on average, consumes about half of the energy use in a typical building, energy efficient lighting
  delivers cost savings.
• Reuse: ALTO lamps use 100 percent recycled mercury during the manufacturing process.
• Recycle: Philips encourages recycling of all spent mercury-containing
  lamps at end of life where permitted by law.

Erik Bouts, president and CEO of Philips Lighting Company North America, said that for manufacturers, a truly sustainable approach to lighting must consider all stages of a product's lifecycle.

"Philips is leading the industry in employing the 'reduce, reuse, recycle' design throughout the product lifecycle," said Bouts. "Philips continues to be the trailblazer in low-mercury product innovations that contribute to initial source reduction and we also support the industry in its quest to implement a more extensive infrastructure to regulate recycling."

Philips Lighting Company has been an industry leader in environmental initiatives and education of end-users for over eight years. With its landmark launch of ALTO in 1995, Philips Lighting Company pioneered a new category of low-mercury fluorescent lamps, heightened corporate environmental awareness and eliminated more than nine tons of mercury at its source.

Recognizing that sustainability begins within, Philips Lighting Company became the first certified ISO 14001-compliant lighting manufacturer in the U.S. The designation recognizes the company's system of evaluating the environmental impact of its production facilities and continually communicating these results to the public. Philips Lighting Company also adopted EcoVision, the standard of environmental care that Royal Philips Electronics applies to all of its operations, which, as a result, has reduced energy usage, water usage, the amount of packing materials and emissions at its eight North American plants.

Parlaying its resources and expertise, the company has earned a leadership position in education within the lighting industry. As the first lighting company to become a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, Philips Lighting Company is actively involved with the group's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program for existing buildings (LEED-EB). To help program participants, Philips developed an on-line tool to help users calculate the mercury content of the lighting across their facilities.

In 2002, Philips started its Innovations Roadshow program, a series of educational seminars hosted in locations around the country. The program grew in 2003 as it gained accreditation by the American Institute of Architects and will continue in 2004.

The sustainable leadership position of the North American lighting division is a reflection of Royal Philips Electronics as a whole. Earlier this year, Philips released a comprehensive sustainability report, covering the company's performance in the fields of economic, social and environmental responsibility. In September, Philips was ranked first in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) STOXX(SM) index ranking of approximately 600 of Europe's leading companies and number one in the Cyclical Goods & Services market sector.

In the words of Gerard Kleisterlee, president and CEO of Royal Philips Electronics, "We recognize the need to perform not only against a single, financial bottom line, but against the triple bottom line. This involves the simultaneous pursuit not only of economic prosperity and environmental quality, but of social equity as well. It's about living up to our brand promise, 'Let's make things better.'"

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of $30.1 billion (EUR 31.8 billion) in 2002. Its 166,500 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, and medical systems.