Vienna, Austria – At the first international sustainable energy conference hosted by the “Regions of Climate Action”(R20), Philips and R20 emphasized the benefits of rapid adoption of intelligent and energy-efficient LED lighting infrastructure for sub-national government organizations (States, Regions, Provinces, Counties and Cities). “LED technology has proven its reliability and now is the time to accelerate adoption. By using LED-based lighting, municipalities can enhance safety for citizens, reduce public energy bills and free up resources to support economic growth.” said Eric Rondolat, CEO of Philips Lighting. “Cities, states, and provinces are where the real action is when it comes to energy efficiency projects,” said R20 Founding Chairman Arnold Schwarzenegger. “We look forward to having Phillips join our building and street lighting efficiency campaign and help to make everyone an action hero in building sustainable communities and fighting climate change.” At the conference, Philips and R20 jointly announced the launch of an “LED Street Lighting Toolkit” in the course of Q1 2013 that will enable sub-national governments to act quickly to improve street lighting with LED technology. Recent studies1 have indicated that improving the efficiency of general electricity use from the present rate of 1 percent per year up to 3 percent per year would reduce the need for capital investments in public energy infrastructure by up to 1900 billion by 2030, providing medium-term public budget relief. Cities are responsible for 70 percent of global energy use. Lighting of public spaces (streets, parks, offices, schools) is responsible for 50 percent2 of a city’s energy bill. LED lighting thus represents a significant opportunity for city councils to cut their power bills and ease their stretched balance sheets. Equally important, LED lighting can help municipalities create safer cities – and the benefit of LED lighting in this respect has been recognized by citizens. A global LED trial3 by The Climate Group in 12 cities determined that citizens prefer LED lighting, with 90 percent supporting its rollout in cities, citing increased feelings of safety. PHILIPS PARTICIPATION AT THE VIENNA R20 CONFERENCE Eric Rondolat, CEO Philips Lighting Panel 1: “The Energy Mix of the Future” Thursday, 31 January 2013 at 10.15 am CET Robert Pfarrwaller, CEO Philips Austria Panel 2: “Empowering Regions to Implement New Energy Solutions’’ (keynote) Thursday, 31 January 2013 at 1.30 pm CET Harry Verhaar, Senior Director Energy and Climate Change, Philips Lighting Panel 4: “Technologies for a Smart Future” Friday, 01 February 2013 at 9.30 am CET 1 Ecofys report published in partnership with Philips “The benefits of energy-efficiency: why wait?” 2 Source: Philips Lighting 3 Lighting the Clean Revolution: the rise of LEDs and what it means for Cities http://thecleanrevolution.org/publications
Shai Dewan Email: shai.dewan@philips.com Mag. Ingun Metelko Philips Austria, Konzernkommunikation Tel: +43/1/60101-1451 Fax: +43/1/60101-1500 Email: ingun.metelko@philips.com Christophe Nuttall R20 Executive Director Email: Cnuttall@regions20.org
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Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2012 sales of EUR 24.8 billion and employs approximately 118,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming, home and portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at: www.philips.com/newscenter.
The R20 Regions of Climate Action a non-profit organization founded in 2010 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other global leaders in cooperation with the United Nations. The R20 is a coalition of partners led by regional governments that work to promote and implement projects that are designed to produce local economic and environmental benefits in the form of reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions; strong local economies; improved public health; and new green jobs. These local actions can help the world achieve our shared global environmental and economic goals. "R20 is not just another NGO or network of regions; it is much more than that. It is a real coalition of forces which believe that climate change and green economic development can be tackled at the subnational level." — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the Global Journal, May-June 2011
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