Apr 22, 2021

Our Commitment to Sustainability: Because a Healthy Planet is not an Option – it’s a Necessity

Category: Automotive, Illumination
We subscribe to the Earth Day campaign slogan that a healthy planet is not an option — it is a necessity!
We subscribe to the Earth Day campaign slogan that a healthy planet is not an option — it is a necessity!

As we celebrate Earth Day 2021, climate change is occurring at an alarming rate and has many broad-reaching impacts on human health, the economy, and the stability of the natural environment. Increased emissions of greenhouse gases that trap heat and block it from escaping the atmosphere drive significant global disruption to climate systems as we know them. We subscribe to the Earth Day campaign slogan that a healthy planet is not an option — it is a necessity!

In this context, and in connection to SDG 13 (Sustainable Development Goal), addressing climate change is one of Lumileds priorities. We are in a unique position to contribute to a better world through our products by reducing strain on the environment through lower energy consumption. For more than 100 years, Lumileds has been pushing the boundaries of light through a series of firsts, particularly in the LED sector. We invented new classes of semiconductors, packages, and phosphor materials that have dramatically reduced the amount of electricity required to produce a lumen of light. Our LED innovation started with Lumileds work in the commercialization of LEDs at Hewlett-Packard in the 1960s and has continued with industry-shaping LED applications and efficacy breakthroughs ever since. Our innovations and technology-firsts have facilitated a global transition to a low-carbon economy through energy-efficient LED lighting solutions. This contribution has also been recognized externally: a 2017 market analysis by IHS Markit estimated that Lumileds LEDs reduced the total CO2 emissions of lighting globally by an estimated 39 million metric tons, which is equivalent to a 0.11% reduction of the world’s entire CO2e footprint and roughly equivalent to shutting down 11 coal-fired power plants in the United States.

Today, we continue to make our cities, homes, offices, mobile devices, and vehicles more efficient by developing energy-efficient lighting solutions. We work each day to bring more energy-efficient products and solutions to market. For the year 2020, we averted 6.42 million metric tons of use-phase CO2 through our LED products – which is the highest number in our history. Some of our recent product releases that support the transition to energy efficiency are noted below:

  • With more usable light, LUXEON HL2X enables high-performing streetlights and outdoor area fixtures.
  • Our line of LUXEON 3030 HE LEDs combines record-breaking efficiency with impeccable light quality for indoor and outdoor applications.
  • The LUXEON 2835 Color Line delivers a 25% brighter red-orange and 6% brighter red, better enabling the visibility of emergency vehicle lights
  • Already a leader in the industry, LUXEON 5050 LED offers best-in-class flux and efficacy.
  • With 17% brighter PC Amber, 10% brighter Lime, and 4% brighter Royal Blue, the LUXEON C and CZ Color lines are the preferred choice for architectural and entertainment lighting.
  • Filling the performance gap between LUXEON 2835C and LUXEON 2835 HE, the new LUXEON 2835N delivers superior light output and efficacy.

Faced with the challenges of global climate change and the need to limit global temperature increase well below 2 degrees Celsius, we will continue to explore new applications of our technology to drive the adoption of more efficient lighting to reduce carbon emissions. In addition, we will continue to focus on the environmental footprint of our manufacturing operations – which we have reduced from 157,694 metric tons CO2e in 2016 to 100,878 metric tons CO2e in 2020.

At Lumileds, we will continue to step up and make a change!