Signify Innovation to cut products' environmental impact, phase out plastic

Signify Innovation, the world leader in lighting which also sells products under the Philips brand, is going for a reduction in the environmental impact of its products. 

As part of its packaging policy, Signify already uses 80 per cent recycled paper and will now start phasing out all plastics from packaging for consumer-related products with the aim to be plastic-free in 2021. 

By phasing out plastic used for consumer product packaging, Signify will avoid the use of over 2,500 tonnes of plastics annually. This is equal to 125 million PET bottles which, placed in a row, would stretch more than 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles), roughly the distance from Troms in the north of Norway, to Gibraltar at the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, and back, the company said in a statement. 

"Our new packaging is smaller, reducing carbon emissions from transport and the materials we use by 6,000 tonne per year – equivalent to the amount of CO2 that 270,000 fully grown trees can absorb in a year," it said. “Plastic waste has a very negative impact on our planet and its biodiversity and we decided that we must take a leading role and start using plastic-free alternatives. It is the right thing to do and meets the increasing expectations of our customers,” said Eric Rondolat, CEO of Signify. “I look forward to the moment that we can announce that we no longer use plastics in our packaging,” he said.