Being ‘green’ is about action not philosophy. Believing in ‘green’ sounds good but means very little to the environment. Measurable, environmentally measurable actions are what define if a company is green, not their statements of belief that being green is good.

The following analysis was written by Jonathan Hardy, Manager, Engineering & New Products and a founding member of the Philips Lumec Green Committee .

Here is a summary our of sustainable development performance in 2011 for the Boisbriand site. This data was taken from the Philips Lumec’s 2011 sustainable development report, which was prepared by the Green Committee and given to Philips Lumec’s management earlier this year. 

Our improvements:

One of our best improvements this year has been the reduction in CO₂ emissions. This 20% decrease allowed us to reach our environmental commitment objective. The foundry project, as well as other natural gas optimization projects, yielded great results – they also allowed us to benefit from total savings of approximately $200,000 over three years!

Our energy-related environmental performance indicators are on a downward trend: electricity and gas consumption has decreased by 5% and 8% respectively, despite a 10% increase in produced units. This decrease follows the downward trend observed in the last few years. These results show the relevance of the various energy reduction projects developed. 

Another significant improvement is the quantity of waste sent to landfill, which has decreased by 27%. This great result can be explained by the increase in our recycling rate, which is 87% compared to 81% last year. 

The sale of eco-responsible products now represents over 26% of our total sales.

The participation rate to transport alternatives remains relatively consistent and is still positive: 33% of employees have used transport alternatives at least once (one week) throughout the year to come to work. 

The number of work-related injuries (DART rate) has been reduced by 25%, but still remains high compared to similar industries. 

Our setbacks:

Our water consumption has increased by over 18% this year. This consistent increase has been reported every year.  In 2011, we’ve had two changes in products used for surface treatment: Zircobond & Tri-CLPS. Shortly after this change, we also replaced the Tri-CLPS back with ROCC. These three new changes should explain this year’s significant increase in our annual water consumption.

Our metal recycling rate has been reduced, but this can be attributed by better material management, as the quantity of waste sent to landfill did not increase.  

*Note – All measurables have been taken during the following period: November 1^st, 2010 to October 31^st, 2011.

Our commitment to the environment is visible by the environmentally responsible actions that we take.

There is still much to be done but we are proud of the improvements that we have made so far and are fully committed to doing even better in 2012.