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Sep 25, 2020

Philips underlines the importance of partnerships to advance UN Sustainable Development Goals at UNGA 75

  • Partnering throughout the value chain to drive ambitious Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) targets
  • Collaborating with customers, governments and NGOs to improve access to care 

Amsterdam, the Netherlands – During the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 75) week, Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today consolidated its commitment to actively engaging and partnering with stakeholders and other companies to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Initiatives driven by the company over the next five years will address  SDG3 ‘Good health and well-being’, SDG12 ‘Responsible consumption and production’, and SDG13 ‘Climate action’. 

If there is one lesson the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us, it is that we must create a stronger, connected and more collaborative healthcare ecosystem that will be resilient for decades to come.

Frans van Houten

CEO of Royal Philips

“If there is one lesson the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us, it is that we must create a stronger, connected and more collaborative healthcare ecosystem that will be resilient for decades to come,” said Frans van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips. “We have the digital technologies to enable this. What is further needed is deep collaboration between public and private parties, including the healthcare industry, government and society. It is the only way to withstand and manage future health and climate crises.”

 

Action in support of the UN SDGs is an integral part of Philips’ strategy. The company has a strong track record in collaboratively driving change to improve people’s lives throughout the world.

Leadership in responsible, sustainable business

In-line with the company’s ongoing determination to be a purpose-driven focused health technology company that conducts business responsibly and sustainably, this commitment to global engagement and partnership in the pursuit of UN SDGs is central to the ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) 2025 commitments it announced at the beginning of UNGA 75. Building on its strong track record, Philips’ shared a comprehensive set of key commitments across all the ESG dimensions that guide execution of the company’s strategy. A key element is Philips’ aim to improve the health and well-being of 2.5 billion people per year by 2030 through innovation, including 400 million in underserved communities. To achieve this goals Philips will partner with private and public organizations. 

Partnering to improve people’s health and well-being

As part of an initiative to improve maternal, newborn and child health in Africa, it has recently partnered with the Government of the Republic of Congo and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to launch the ‘EBOTELI’ maternal and neonatal healthcare project in the Republic of Congo aiming to reach 500,000 women and 70,000 newborns in disadvantaged communities. And together with the Philips Foundation, it has partnered with UNICEF in Kenya to support the Nairobi ‘Maker Space’ – a project that fosters and enables local health technology innovation and entrepreneurship with the aim to improve mother, newborn and child health in Kenya. Also via the Philips Foundation, Philips has collaborated with UK-based charity Global Action Plan and other environmental pressure groups on a nation-wide initiative to help UK government and local authorities improve air quality in and around UK schools to protect children’s lungs.

 

Next to these community-based initiatives, Philips is partnering with health systems across the globe to deliver on the quadruple aim of healthcare – enhancing the patient experience, improving health outcomes, lowering the cost of care, and improving the work life of care providers. In the U.S., for example, it is partnering with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand the VA’s telehealth capabilities. This will include providing care to rural veterans through telehealth-capable appointment spaces set up in local communities, but also deployment of the world’s largest tele-critical care system, further integrating tele-health and delivering quality care for veterans. The tele-critical care system will enable a co-located team of specially trained critical care physicians and nurses to remotely monitor ICU patients, something that has already proved invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Driving global change

In terms of environmental responsibility and action on climate change, Philips continues to partner with like-minded front runners in sustainability to drive global change. All Philips operations in the United States are already powered by wind energy since 2017, and through a unique consortium, also the operations in the Netherlands are completely powered by green electricity since last year. Philips is now firmly on course to achieve global carbon neutrality in its operations in 2020, delivering on its commitment to the UN Sustainability Goals on climate change. Another example, Philips CEO Frans van Houten continues to co-chair the PACE (Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy) organization, which as part of a wider program of sustainability initiatives has spearheaded the Global Plastic Action Partnership and Capital Equipment Coalition.

 

At the beginning of this year’s World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit, which is taking place this week in the context of UNGA 75, Philips’ Chief Medical Officer Jan Kimpen spoke about accelerating digital inclusion during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

Jan-Willem Scheijgrond, Philips Head of Global Government and Public Affairs is participating in sessions discussing Financing for the SDGs and ESG. He will share how the private, public and non-profit sectors can build stronger partnerships to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.  

 

On September 24, Robert Metzke, Philips’ Head of Sustainability, Strategy & Innovation, will explore the interface between climate and health during a Climate Cocktail Club virtual event, which can be viewed live or recorded on the Climate Cocktail Club YouTube channel.

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2019 sales of EUR 19.5 billion and employs approximately 81,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

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Joost Maltha

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