Today Royal Philips Electronics reported green product sales of EUR 11.3 billion in 2012, marking 45 percent of total sales and moving the company significantly closer to its EcoVision sustainability performance targets of 2015. Healthcare drove the highest green product nominal sales growth with 36 percent and expanded its green product portfolio with 16 new introductions to improve patient outcomes and expand access to care, while reducing environmental impact.

This achievement underscores Philips’ continued focus on driving sustainability throughout the organization and aim to improve the health and well-being of people through innovation. “We are proud to report that today Philips improves the lives  of every 4th person on earth and our ambition is to grow this target to 3 billion a year by 2025 as part of our company’s vision”, said Jim Andrew, chairman of the sustainability board and Philips’ chief strategy and innovation officer. “We have also made huge progress in the environmental impact of our operations and have reached our five-year carbon reduction target of 25 percent this year. This was primarily accomplished through energy saving programs in our major operational sites, green logistics, reduced travel and increased use of renewable energy, which we will continue to implement globally.”

In 2012 Philips invested EUR 569 million in Green Innovation, on track to reach our target of EUR 2 billion by 2015. Lighting led the way by investing over EUR 325 million in innovation towards furthering the LED revolution which aims to substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions by switching to energy-efficient lighting.

In Consumer Lifestyle the company implemented its voluntary commitment to phase out polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFR) from its products, and for the first time all its espresso coffee machines launched during the year are free of these substances.

Investments in healthcare support the increasing interest that we see in societies across the globe for green hospitals and reduced environmental impact of healthcare. This commitment was recognized by COCIR in choosing Philips Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as the front runner in the industry for energy-efficient MRI with 22 percent lower average energy consumption.

The Philips 2012 sustainability update is an integrated part of the Philips 2012 Annual Report, available at: http://www.annualreport2012.philips.com