Philips Lighting (Euronext Amsterdam ticker: LIGHT), a global leader in lighting, today announced an expansion ofits sustainability program in India. The program aims to drive awareness about safe disposal of lighting products and compliance to safety regulations such as RoHS (restriction on the use of hazardous substances as per permissible limits) in the manufacturing of lighting products. The company shared that under the program, it has expanded its CFL and Tubelight safe disposal program to more than 400 retailers in India across 25 states, within just five months of its launch.

Commenting on the program Mr. Harshavardhan Chitale, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Philips Lighting India said, “As a leading lighting company, we are conscious of our responsibility towards the environment and therefore launched our sustainability program in India last year; focused on safe disposal of lighting products and compliance to safety regulations such as RoHS. We are delighted about the rapid progress of our CFL and Tubelight Safe disposal program that has now reached more than 400 retailers in the country. This reflects our commitment to improve lives and create sustainable value beyond just illumination.”

The program is the Indian chapter of the company’s global sustainability program ‘Brighter Lives, Better World’ and commenced in December 2016 with a CFL and Tubelight safe disposal program, enabling customers to safely dispose their used lighting products using specially designed disposal bags available at Philips Lighting retailers. The company also continues to create awareness about safe disposal of lighting products by reaching out to schools, colleges and Resident Welfare Associations across India.

Philips Lighting also strongly endorses compliance to RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) in products and components produced by the lighting industry in India, which has been made mandatory by the new E waste management rules in the country. RoHS originated in the European Union and restricts the use of six hazardous substances as per permissible limits in the manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment and their components.

Launched last year during the Climate Week in NYC, ‘Brighter Lives, Better World’ builds on Philips Lighting’s ambition to create brighter lives with quality light that improves people’s wellbeing, safety and productivity. The important commitments of the program for 2020 include:

• Sustainable revenues: 80% of turnover from products, systems and services providing environmental and social benefits

• Sustainable operations: 100% carbon neutral operations and shift to 100% renewable electricity

Further details on the ‘Brighter Lives, Better World’ program can be found here.

About Philips Lighting

Philips Lighting (Euronext Amsterdam ticker: LIGHT), a global leader in lighting products, systems and services, delivers innovations that unlock business value, providing rich user experiences that help improve lives. Serving professional and consumer markets, we lead the industry in leveraging the Internet of Things to transform homes, buildings and urban spaces. With 2016 sales of EUR 7.1 billion, we have approximately 34,000 employees in over 70 countries. News from Philips Lighting is located at http://www.newsroom.lighting.philips.com and on Twitter via @Lighting_Press.