Philips Electronics Hong Kong Limited (Philips) has called upon all students in Hong Kong to adopt a more environmentally friendly lifestyle by making a simple switch to using more energy efficient lighting to combat climate change and make a real difference to Hong Kong.
This initiative was launched today (September 18, 2007) at the inaugural ceremony of “Philips’ Make a Simple Switch Energy Saving School Education Campaign”, a year-round program to increase the awareness of energy saving and climate change among the younger generation. To date, about 100 primary and secondary schools as well as universities have pledged to commit themselves to this meaningful cause.
Energy saving and environmental protection are major policy areas of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Philips, as a global leader in lighting, echoes this worthy cause by educating the “future pillars of society” to be socially responsible, and inspiring them to make a simple switch to a more energy efficient lifestyle.
Through participating in this Campaign, students will learn to make a real difference to the world by saving energy, reducing CO2 emissions and combating global warming in a simple, easy and accessible way.
“This territory-wide campaign also represents Philips’ effort to support the Hong Kong Government’s Action Blue Sky Campaign,” said Mr Ravi Rajagopalan, General Manager of Lighting, Philips Electronics Hong Kong Ltd.
The ceremony was graced by the supporting presence of Mr Chris Wardlaw, Deputy Secretary, Curriculum and Quality Assurance Branch of the Education Bureau, Mr S K Ho, Chief Engineer Energy Efficiency Division of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Department, as well as heads of educational institutions and Energy Saving Campaign Ambassador Mr Matthew Ko Kwan-yin.
The Make a Simple Switch Energy Saving School Education Campaign comprises tailor-made inter-school and individual competitions such as energy saving desk lamp design competition, on-line energy saving talent quiz, environmental video making competition and jingle creation competition, offering students fun-filled opportunities to better understand energy saving. This will add an extra dimension to the quality education that the Education Bureau is planning for Hong Kong.
Officiating at the ceremony, Mr Chris Wardlaw, Deputy Secretary Curriculum and Quality Assurance Branch, Education Bureau said, “We welcome Philips’ initiative in encouraging our students to learn more about environmental issues, and to take simple but solid actions to protect the earth – not just for themselves, but also for the generations to come.”
“Philips is a global leader in advocating an energy saving lifestyle. We do so through introducing simple yet innovative energy efficient lighting solutions, and promoting them through large scale campaigns,” said Mr Rajagopalan. “The Make a Simple Switch Energy Saving School Education Campaign is one of these initiatives that ride on the recent launch of our asimpleswitch.com website and our global partnership with Live Earth early this quarter. We are thrilled by the enthusiastic participation by the education sector in Hong Kong, and the Education Bureau’s support in particular adds extra weight to the Campaign,” he added.
At present, there are about 11 million incandescent light bulbs in Hong Kong’s homes. If all of them are replaced by energy efficient lighting equipment, such as the Philips Tornado – the latest energy saving light bulb available in the Hong Kong market – then HK$1.4 billion in energy costs will be saved per year. In the commercial sector, if all of the 2 million incandescent light bulbs and 14 million florescent tubes are replaced by new energy efficient lighting, then HK$1.2 billion in energy costs will be saved annually.
Consuming less energy means less emission of carbon dioxide, which is a major cause of global warming. So the simple switch can effectively reduce the rate of global warming that can spell disaster to the world. “In view of this situation, it is really time for all of us in Hong Kong to take individual responsibility and make “a simple switch” pledge to act against climate change,” said Mr Rajagopalan.
Prizes will be presented to winners of all the inter-school competitions as well as to schools that have submitted the largest numbers of entries. Please refer to the attached fact sheet of the Campaign for further details.
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