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Increasing scarcity means that obtaining energy from the sources from which we have been obtaining them, non-renewable sources (fossil fuels, like coal, oil, and natural gas), is becoming too expensive and/or too environmentally damaging to retrieve. Therefore, renewable energy sources, sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat, play an important part in combatting climate change and energy security.

Philips, as a member of renewable energy association RE100, is committed to developing and deploying a strategy to source 100% of our electricity consumption from renewable sources. RE100 is a partnership founded by The Climate Group and CDP to encourage the world’s most influential businesses to join powers and commit to going 100% renewable. The aim is for at least 100 companies to make a global 100% renewable commitment with a clear timeframe for reaching this goal. We commit to becoming carbon neutral by 2020.

RE100

Becoming carbon neutral

We commit to becoming carbon neutral by 2020 at the UN Climate Change Conference COP21.

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Sourcing 55% of our global electricity consumption from renewable sources has a large positive impact on our carbon footprint and the reductions we’ve made since our commitment to cut it by 40% in the timeframe 2007 – 2015. We have been steadily increasing the portion of electricity coming from renewable sources. To date, Philips has sourced 3,353 GWh low carbon electricity since 2007; equivalent to powering 50,000 households with electricity throughout this period¹. Using low carbon electricity has led to avoided emissions of 1,452,347 metric tonnes CO2-e since 2007; equal to driving a mid-sized family car over 193,000 times around the world.

Philips has installed renewable energy installations at several of its sites. In 2012, we unveiled a 40-story wind turbine to power our lighting manufacturing facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA. This 2-megawatt wind turbine installation in Fall River provides up to 70 percent of the Philips plant’s electricity needs.

In 2014, we installed a ground-mounted 650 kW solar array with 2,000 panels at our Andover office. The solar panels are expected to generate 780,000 kWh annually, covering approximately 5% of the site’s energy consumption.

¹ household electricity

Related pages

Carbon footprint

Learn more about the Philips Operational Carbon Footprint.

Chemicals management

Find out more about the chemicals management at Philips.

Supplier Sustainability

The Philips Regulated Substances List is part of our Purchase Agreements. This is an important element of our Supplier Sustainability Involvement Program.