Sustainable innovation by design

Green Innovation
EcoDesign process
Green Products and Green Revenues
Life Cycle Analysis
Supporting recycling
Chemicals management
REACH

Green Innovation

We define Green Innovation as innovation with the objective of developing green products and/or technologies. Green Products are defined as products that offer a significant environmental improvement in one or more Green Focal Areas: Energy, Packaging, Substances, Weight & Materials, Circularity.

EcoDesign process

We drive sustainability in all aspects of product creation through our EcoDesign process. This includes life-cycle assessment to determine the environmental impact at each stage of a product's life from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling.

The EcoDesign process led Philips to define five key Green Focal Areas for improved environmental performance:

Energy

Energy consumption is often the single most important factor in determining a product’s lifecycle environmental impact. By improving the energy efficiency of a product, we can reduce its energy consumption and carbon footprint.

Packaging

Lightweight and low-volume packaging, use of recycled and/or bio-based, biodegradable content, and better recyclable packaging all help minimize resource consumption and environmental impact over the life cycle of the packaging.

Substances

Products are made using a range of substances, some of which may have an impact on the environment. By minimizing or eliminating the use of hazardous substances, we can reduce our products’ environmental impact.

Weight & Materials

By reducing the amount of materials we use, we can use fewer resources and less energy during manufacturing and/or transportation. Also the choice of materials – e.g. precious metals, bio-based, bio-degradable materials – can have a positive or negative environmental impact.

Circularity

Circularity refers to the potential of a system, product or component to contribute to the circular economy. It is calculated by assessing environmental performance over multiple life cycles, taking into account, for example, the recovery of materials and their reuse in new products. Upgrading, serviceability, refurbishment, spare parts harvesting, increased recycled content and recyclability – these all help to reduce the consumption of resources. Circularity also includes product lifetime; longer lifetime of products reduces the resource consumption and transportation emissions associated with the introduction of new products.

Green Products

Philips Green Products offer a significant environmental improvement in one or more Green Focal Areas: Energy, Packaging, Substances, Weight & Materials, Circularity. This is done either by meeting product-specific eco-performance requirements and/or being rewarded with a recognized eco-performance label.

You can recognize a Philips Green Product by the Green Product mark, which is used on all eco passports and Environmental Product Declarations for Green Products. Our Green Product process is subject to external third-party auditor assurance from EY (previous years KPMG).

For our Philips Green Products we use Life Cycle Analysis to set specific product requirements

For a representative PowerTouch Shaver, the two most impacting phases of the product's life cycle are the use phase (due to the use of gel and cleaning of the device) and the production phase (including materials). The contribution of the different phases to the product's total environmental impact is shown on the following ‘ecoprofile’ graph. The packaging, transport, and end-of-life phases represent respectively around 1% of the total environmental impact.

The ReCiPe methodology and the Netherlands’ environmental cost indicator* were used to assess and calculate the environmental impacts of the product.

The LCA is based on a 7-year scenario in which an user buys one body and 3 to 4 spare head/cutter sets.

In this calculation, it is assumed that the end user has daily shaving sessions using gel and cleans the device once a week with 32°C water.

*The environmental costs, also called “hidden” costs, are the environmental costs associated with a product’s manufacture, use, and disposal (based on the cost of preventive measures that should be taken to prevent the environmental impacts).

Supporting recycling

We want to improve people’s quality of life through meaningful innovation and we aim to achieve that by using our planet’s limited resources in a sustainable way. This calls for Philips to continuously work on the environmental performance of our products, which includes designing for recyclability and reuse, e-waste management, and other factors.

Chemicals management

Minimizing – and wherever possible eliminating – the use of hazardous substances in our products and production processes is a cornerstone of our commitment to health, safety and the environment.

REACH

We support the aim of the European Union’s REACH legislation to protect human health and the environment through the better and earlier identification of certain chemical substances.