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Philips EcoVision4
Netherlands
This case study has a slightly different format to the others in the SEE Library, as it is drawn from the second SEE Policy Booklet - Realising Sustainability and Innovation through Design: Making it Happen in Communities, Industry, Public Sector & Policy-Making (May 2010).
Until recently, combining environmental sustainability, social welfare and economic growth was seen as incompatible. However, combining the three is now a means to maximise industrial potential. In transforming social challenges into economic opportunities, design is increasingly emerging as the crucial interface between sustainability and innovation practice. Moreover, in order for a company (particularly an SME) to compete on the basis of sustainability and innovation as added value, it needs the means to implement new sustainability regulations and integrate sustainability throughout its organisation. Design is a key mechanism for enabling organisations of any size to adopt products and systems that conform to new regulations through processes that identify and propose solutions to inefficiencies. It is also an opportunity for companies to integrate sustainability in anticipation of future legislation. Design management enables competitiveness and innovation through differentiation. Going for design is going for a competitive advantage. This is demonstrated in the case study below.
Philips markets itself as a sustainability-focused multinational corporation. It has capitalised on emerging sustainability legislation and become a market leader in sustainable innovation. Philips is an example of a company adopting sustainable principles by holistically applying design throughout the organisation to achieve innovation. Its environmental performance is driven by its EcoVision III and EcoVision4 action programmes. The EcoVision4 programme centres on energy and material efficiency over the entire product lifecycle as well as in daily operations. ‘By 2012, Philips will generate 30% of total revenues from Green Products, have doubled investment in Green Innovations to a cumulative EUR 1 billion and improved operational energy efficiency by 25% and reduced CO2 emissions by 25%, all compared with the base year 2007.’ Philips is pursuing this strategy in response to EU sustainability requirements such as Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), where ‘directives are met with comprehensive EcoDesign and manufacturing programmes to reduce the use of hazardous materials’. Part of its vision for realising these targets is working with stakeholders to share expertise and co-create innovative solutions, implementing a new green purchasing policy and capitalising on the ‘growing importance of design’. Philips aims ‘to be the true front-runner in design-led, market- and consumer-driven innovation’. It has even used design thinking to present its 2009 annual report, readers being able to generate their own customised copy with information most relevant to them. The Creative Director of the Philips Annual Report 2009 recognised that ‘a company’s annual report is rarely read cover to cover, but circulated to a wide range of stakeholders, each with their own interests and requirements. An NGO is interested in reading different information than a financial analyst. Our solution means that each visitor can select the information they want, choose how they want it presented and download it in their own neatly designed, personalised version of the report.’ For Philips ‘sustainability is a strategic innovation driver’ and ‘Philips Design’s forward-looking exploration projects deliver vital insights for new business development, supporting the transformation towards a health and well-being company’.
For more information visit: www.philips.com/sustainability
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