Philips participates in Arab Forum for Environment and Development to boost switch to energy efficiency

Philips' participation comes in line with making a significant thrust to advance energy efficiency in the Middle East. The time is now for government, business and civil society to decide how to combat climate change and secure our energy future.

The Arab Forum for Environment and Development is a not-for-profit regional non-governmental organization, grouping experts together with the civil society, business community and media, to promote prudent environmental policies and programs across the Arab region.

During the conference and for the first time, an independent expert report about the impact of climate change on Arab countries will be released for public debate, to raise awareness among governments, businesses, academia and the public and encourage concrete actions to face the challenge. Therefore, Philips' participation in AFED is to emphasize the importance of energy saving, its benefits and how we can each individually make a change with simple steps.

Louis Hakim, VP of Royal Philips Electronics and CEO of Philips Middle East, says:

"Lighting accounts for approximately 19% of the world's total electricity use, the total savings we can make are huge. Today, 22% of the electricity used in the Middle East is spent on lighting which is a higher rate compared to the rest of the world. For homes, up to 80% savings can be made by converting from conventional lamps to energy efficient ones."

On the 19th of October, Philips announced its voluntary decision to phase-out the sale of home use incandescent lamps in the GCC as of September 2010, and made a call to make the switch to energy efficient lighting with the aim of reducing carbon emissions. Cities as well have a crucial role to play in addressing global warming; therefore, Philips will also call for action to ensure that renovation of existing infrastructure and buildings in cities is accelerated in the battle against climate change.

It is not enough just to create new, low-energy buildings. For example in Europe, 75% of non-residential buildings like public offices and schools are old 1940`s technology and only 1% is using lighting controls. The current rate of renovation in offices is only about 7% per year and in street lighting, it's just 3%. At this pace, it will take 30 years to be able to reap the environmental and economic benefits, therefore it is essential to refurbish the existing facilities.

"Philips has been improving the environmental performance of its products in the last thirty years. In its fourth EcoVision program the company aims to generate 30% of total revenues from Green Sales, double investment in green innovation to EUR 1 Billion and improve its energy efficiency with 25% by 2012," added Louis.

At the UN Leadership Forum on Climate Change that is taking place in Copenhagen from the 7th to the 18th of December, Philips, as a member of the Corporate Leadership Group and co-signee of the 'Copenhagen Communique' that was handed over to UN SG Ban Ki-Moon on September 22nd, will request upon governments worldwide to help ensure a green recovery by setting ambitious CO2 reduction targets as well as strong legislative standards for implementation. The company puts weight behind its appeal by partnering with the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), committing to make cities 40% more energy efficient in the next 10 years. It is worth noting that AFED is the only regional Arab organization accredited as observer member to the Copenhagen Summit, and will participate in this event with a delegation from various Arab countries.

AFED Secretary General, Najib Saab, said that "Philips' membership adds a new dimension to AFED, which is bringing together an ever-growing group of leading corporations and institutional members from across the Middle East. Philips' participation in AFED's activities comes at an appropriate time with the release of the AFED report on climate change, considering Philips' leadership in the field of energy saving." Saab also commended Philips' voluntary decision to phase-out conventional lamps in the GCC markets and switch to energy efficient lighting.

Furthermore, as an inspirational activity, Philips will display a booth with a pledge wall where people can sign their oath to take simple actions in saving energy and switching to energy efficient lighting.