INTERVIEW Lighting the way Elina Niemi of Signify explains how a long history of innovation and a strong focus on sustainability is helping the company to create energy-efficient lighting solutions for passenger ships The story of Signify started in 1891, when Philips was founded in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The company has been at the forefront of lighting innovation ever since it launched its first product – an incandescent lamp – and is now one of the world’s largest multinational organisations. Notable examples of its innovations include commercial gas-filled incandescent lamps and low-voltage fluorescent tubes, as well as more recent developments including the first LED retrofit lamp (launched in 2008) and Philips Hue, the first smart, colourchanging LED lighting system controlled via smartphone (introduced in 2012). In 2016, Philips decided to establish its lighting division into a new company. Initially known as Philips Lighting, the company was renamed Signify in May 2018, although it continues to produce lighting products under the original brand. “Although we’re now under a new brand, we are backed by 134 years of success and experience in creating lighting products,” says Elina Niemi, commercial leader for marine at Signify. “We bring that experience to all of our projects with our customers in the passenger shipping industry.” Now that it is operating as a separate company, Signify is able to more easily adapt its product portfolio to customers’ individual needs. “This is one of the biggest benefits we provide for our customers,” says Niemi. “We could only supply products before, but now we work with customers to create tailored solutions that will fully meet their needs. We design and test new products together, offering them our full support throughout the project.” Signify also draws on Philips Lighting’s history of sustainable developments, which extend back over 50 years to 1973 when the oil crisis pushed its lighting division to increase its focus on making its operations and products more energy efficient. “Since the mid-1990s, we’ve developed 4-to-5 Sustainability programmes with an expanding scope in operations, products, brand, people, supply chain and strategy,” explains Niemi. “In 2003, we launched the Green Switch programme to drive the transition to more sustainable lighting, which helped with the global phase-out of incandescent light bulbs that was called for on 7 December 2006.” Signify has continued this legacy. The Brighter Lives, Better World programme, launched in 2016 has already seen the company move to using 100 per cent renewable electricity and producing zero landfill waste at its manufacturing sites. This drive for sustainability has also been reflected in Signify’s products, with the first Philips ultra-efficient LED A-class “ We are backed by 134 years of success and experience in creating lighting products” 148
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