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    Philips and R20 Founding Chairman Arnold Schwarzenegger call for action to switch to LED lighting in cities

    January 31, 2013

    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 Euros 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.

     

    ¹ Ecofys report published in partnership with Philips “The benefits of energy-efficiency: why wait?”
    http://www.ecofys.com/en/news/energy-efficiency-could-help-saving-1900-billion-of-investments-by-2030/
    ² Source: Philips Lighting
    ³ Lighting the Clean Revolution: the rise of LEDs and what it means for Cities http://thecleanrevolution.org/publications


    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 February 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

    For further information, please contact:

    Shai Dewan
    Philips Lighting Communications
    Tel: + 31 6 20 69 58 22
    E-mail: shai.dewan@signify.com 

     

    Ingun Metelko
    Philips Corporate Communications Austria
    Tel: + 43 1 6010 11451
    E-mail: ingun.metelko@signify.com 

     

    Christophe Nuttall
    R20 Executive Director
    Email: Cnuttall@regions20.org

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    About Royal Philips Electronics

     

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    About R20

    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

     

    Ways to Take Action:
    - Sub-national governments committed to measurable carbon emission reductions from low carbon economic development may join as members.
    - National governments may join as observers to work with this sub-national alliance.
    - Low carbon technology companies and project developers may join as R20 Partners.
    - Investors, sovereign wealth funds, development banks, and other financial institutions may join as R20 Green Finance Network Partners.
    - Philanthropy may join for policy support, co-funding R20 secretariat startup, or investing endowments in R20 projects.
    - NGOs/Academia may join as partners to provide important research and support for R20 member projects.

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