Q: What’s your strategy in developing sustainable solutions at Royal Philips?
A: Basically, we look at what issues are of great importance at large, and from there we find ways on how we can contribute as a company. For our green initiatives, we have identified two big areas: energy efficiency, which covers lighting and any other products that we have, and producing affordable healthcare.
On the energy efficiency area, we have solid products, specifically in lighting that can save up to 80 per cent in energy. This is what we call “LED (light-emitting diode) lighting”.
On healthcare, we are working on a solution called EasyWeb, which allows patients to connect via the Net for remote cardiac monitoring.

Q: What is the adoption and awareness of green solutions like among companies?
A: The adoption is already quite big today. In Asia alone, the total market of energy-efficient lighting stands at E1.8 billion (RM9.1 billion), excluding Japan. This is quite substantial, but the adoption can be sped up. We are pleased to see governments like Thailand, the Philippines and Australia already issuing a ban on usage of non-energy-efficient lighting in buildings.

Q: What are some of the challenges companies and governments face in adopting green solutions?
A: The initial investment for acquiring green solutions is obviously higher. But the lifecycle cost is better. Maybe at the beginning companies need to invest a bit more, but that will decrease over time.

Q: What would be a simple solution for countries in Asia to conserve energy and go green?
A: Based on McKinsey Global Institute’s study on CO2 (carbon dioxide) reduction, energy-efficient lighting is one of the most important low-cost solutions for greenhouse gas reduction. If the new energy-efficient lighting technologies were to be adopted in Asia, we could achieve 40 per cent savings in energy output a year. This would save Asia E30 billion in energy costs per year, which is equivalent to an annual savings of 245 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, and a savings of 555 million barrels of oil a year, which is equivalent to an annual output of more than 190 power plants.

Q: Philips has been working with governments like Vietnam and Thailand on usage of compact fluorescent lamps. What about Malaysia?
A: In the last two years, we have been engaging different stakeholders, like talking to energy commissions and ministries. We have been telling them that in the long run there is a need to conserve energy. The solution is not investing to produce more energy.
Philips is heavily involved in the Malaysian Sustainability Building Council, where we advise on how future buildings in Malaysia can be built in an energy-efficient way.