Social Commitment

Our commitment to improving quality of life around the world is in keeping with our heritage and values, as well as our Business Principles, which state: “Philips wishes to be a responsible partner in society…”

Living up to this commitment means we use our capabilities to enhance the lives of our employees and people in society at large. Within the company, we encourage teamwork and collaboration in an environment that enables employees to reach their full potential.

 

Building on our rich heritage of involvement in social issues, we have established our own approach of supporting the communities where we live and work, focusing on energy efficiency and healthcare.

Sustainable lighting 
There is a pressing need to find innovative lighting solutions for the 1.6 billion people who live in areas with no access to the electricity grid or where the grid is unreliable. That’s why we have developed SMILE (Sustainable Model in Lighting Everywhere).

 

Launched as a pilot in 2006 in four Indian states, SMILE includes two lighting solutions: UDAY, a rechargeable portable lantern, and KIRAN, a hand-cranked LED flashlight. Today are distributed in eighth Indian states.

SESA
Philips is working together with the Dutch government in a public-private partnership known as SESA (Sustainable Energy Solutions for Africa). In SESA we work together with NGO’s to provide affordable and sustainable energy-efficient lighting products to off-grid consumers in sub-Saharan Africa. The program was launched in Ghana and will be extended to other countries including Kenya and Tanzania. One of the lighting solutions of the SESA program is our Uday Mini Solar lantern, a portable, fast charging device developed in India. The same lantern has also been distributed in Bangalore, India, as part of a project for girls and women with the World Vision NGO. Philips is also the largest supporter of the Light Up The World development organization. Together withy LUTW we provide solar lighting for learning and literacy programs in developing countries. This cooperation has so far brought solar lighting to over 10,000 people.