The Ellen MacArthur Foundation Announces Philips as a Global Partner at the Inaugural Circular Economy International Summit

LONDON, June 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation today announced that Philips will become a partner for the next three years to help accelerate the transition to the circular economy.

Following the Foundation's successful founding partnerships with Renault, BT/Cisco (working together), Kingfisher and National Grid, Philips will join the ranks to trigger circular economy innovation within their own business and support the Foundation's work in education.

The announcement was made at the Foundation's Circular Economy 100 summit - the largest ever gathering of businesses, academics and entrepreneurs on the transition to the circular economy. As the Foundation and its founding partners work to build the new alliance of 100 corporations, emerging innovators and regions, news also came that Royal BAM, H&M, Unilever, Innoverne, and the Agency of Design are the latest members to join.

Dame Ellen MacArthur stated: "The circular economy provides a compelling framework for a regenerative economy, but the challenge still remains to transform the idea into action at scale. Philip's commitment both to support the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and focus internally on circular economy innovation will add considerable momentum to the transition".

Frans Van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips explained, "At Philips we strive to make the world healthier and more sustainable through innovation. Our goal is to improve the lives of 3 billion people a year by 2025. For a sustainable world, the transition from a linear to a circular economy is a necessary boundary condition. A circular economy requires innovation in the areas of material, component and product reuse, as well as related business models. By using materials more effectively economic growth will eventually be decoupled from the use of natural resources and ecosystems. In such an economy, the lower use of raw materials allows us to create more value."

The summit hosted sessions from global leading business leaders and practitioners including Professor Dr. Michael Braungart & William McDonough (co-authors of Cradle to Cradle), Jeremy Oppenheim (Principal, McKinsey & Company), Walter Stahel (member of the Club of Rome and co-founder of Product life Institute) and Carlos Tavares (COO Renault Group).

About Royal Philips:

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people's lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2012 sales of EUR 24.8 billion and employs approximately 116,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at http://www.philips.com/newscenter.

SOURCE Ellen MacArthur Foundation