Philips Lighting says that it has now delivered 1 billion LED lamps and luminaires as part of its commitment to the ‘Global Lighting Challenge’, the Clean Energy Ministerial campaign to deploy 10 billion high-efficiency light points to improve energy efficiency worldwide. It has hence passed the halfway mark of its target to deliver 2 billion by 2020.
Philips Lighting says it is the first company to reach this milestone which “marks the latest progress in the global transition to energy-efficient lighting, a vital measure in slowing climate change”. In December 2006, when Philips Lighting called for the global phase-out of incandescent light bulbs, lighting accounted for 19% of global electricity consumption. This was down to 15% in 2015 (when the Paris Agreement was signed) and is on track to decline further to 8% by 2030.
“This milestone demonstrates that we can successfully drive the transition from conventional lighting technologies to LED, which can make a significant contribution to global climate change objectives,” says Harry Verhaar, Philips Lighting’s head of Global Public and Government Affairs. “Energy efficiency is the low hanging fruit – today, energy efficiency improves by about 1.5% every year, but simply doubling this to 3% per year would set us on a sustainable path,” he adds. “Compared to the outdated lighting sources these LEDs replaced, the energy savings achieved are equivalent to the energy generated by 30 medium-sized coal-fired power stations and the CO2 reductions achieved are equivalent to the emissions produced by 12 million cars. The impact is real and measurable.”
The 1 billionth LED lamp was presented to a group of representatives from international governmental and non-governmental organizations at a special ceremony in Bonn, Germany.
At the event, Philips Lighting called on governments worldwide to join them in its goal to make the world more energy efficient by making the following commitments:
by 2020 all new buildings should be installed with LED or equivalent energy-efficient lighting; by 2025 all street lighting should be LED or equivalent energy-efficient lighting; and by 2030 all existing corporate buildings should be fitted with LED or equivalent energy-efficient lighting.
