The award is given by The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) and was presented to Professor Dr. Ab Stevels, Philips Consumer Electronics, during the Institution’s Annual Conference at Torbay, United Kingdom. The award is the latest achievement by Philips in meeting its ongoing commitment to sustainability. End 2003 the Down Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), which tracks performance of the leading sustainability companies worldwide, ranked Philips the No. 1 sustainable company in the Cyclical Goods & Services market sector.
Philips EcoDesign program focuses on procedures for environmentally conscious product design and affects all phases of the product design process. The significance of EcoDesign to the Philips sustainability effort is reflected in the goals established for the program. All product divisions have to develop at least five products per year that get the status of -Green Flagship’. This means the product has to offer a better environmental performance than its predecessors or closest equivalent competitor products. Philips’ Consumer Electronics division is embracing EcoDesign even beyond this requirement by aiming to achieve at least nine Green Flagship products in 2004.
-As a leading technology company, we are committed to proactively sharing our knowledge and expertise to contribute to a better environment through our products and technologies. This reward is an important recognition for our efforts in the environmental area,” said Frans Van Houten, CEO of Philips Consumer Electronics Business Groups. -We go beyond viewing the environment as something to do -on the side’ by ensuring it is embedded into our organization across all businesses.”
Philips’ Environmental Competence Centre and Professor Dr. Ab Stevels, are being honored by CIWM for the paper, -Environmental Competence and EcoDesign for Consumer Electronics”. Presented at the 2003 CIWM conference, the paper shares the company’s knowledge and experience embedding EcoDesign in company strategies and in the product creation process for both environmental and economic gains. The main conclusions of the paper include utilizing environmental benchmarking to create a platform for EcoDesign and marketing these green products, linking to environmental, material, immaterial and emotional benefits.
Philips’ commitment to innovation and the development of environmentally responsible products resulted in more than 100 Philips products carrying the Green Flagship status at year-end 2003. One of the products that recently achieved the Green Flagship status is the Philips 30PF9975 FlatTV , which uses 33% less energy, weighs 31% less and received the prestigious EcoDesign award this year at the CES show in Las Vegas, U.S.A.
The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, a professional body which represents over 6,000 waste management professionals in the United Kingdom, works to advance the scientific, technical and practical aspects of waste management for safeguarding the environment through education, training, research and the dissemination of knowledge to government, industries, environmental organizations and consumers. The James Jackson Award is given in memory of one of the Institution’s founding members to the author of an outstanding contribution to a meeting of the Institution.