Let there be light, that's energy-efficient, says Signify Thailand’s top exec

“We want to unlock the extraordinary potential of light,” he says.

Signify NV, formerly known as Philips Lighting NV, is a 131 year old Dutch multinational lighting corporation reborn in its current form in 2016 as a result of the spin-off of the lighting division of Philips.

In 2018, Philips Lighting officially changed its name to Signify.

However, Signify continues to produce lighting products under the Philips brand.

Jagannathan cited a five frontier strategy pursued by his company to build on from deep discussions with customers.

The key strategies are: a customer centricity, differentiated offers, growth for sustainability, digitalisation, and being a great place to work.

A quarterly survey measures customer satisfaction and is a platform to gather customer insight and sentiment because the voice of the customers translates into actionable items to respond to, he explains.

Differentiated offers are to ensure that there is a ‘fit-for-purpose’ solution available for every customer segment in every part of the world because they do not want to leave a section of the market untapped.

“We have the most efficient light bulbs in the world,” he says.

March of technology

"Philips has achieved a technological breakthrough that allows us to offer 210 lumens per watt, which is the A-class ultra-high energy efficiency bulb," he says.

“There used to be a time when a light bulb was just a light bulb, but with what is possible today and with what technology allows us to do and how the market has evolved, there is a need for differentiated offers,” he explains.

The third and most exciting strategy for Srinivasan personally is growth for sustainability.

Growth for sustainability has five main elements.

The first element is the green switch, which incorporates an intelligent lighting system.

“A fifth of Thailand’s energy is used for lighting and a large part of this energy consumed for lighting could be avoided by making a simple switch to available green technology. To switch from the conventional technology of sodium-vapour lamps that Thailand has now to a simple LED lighting can save about 60% of energy,” he says

Once you include dimming calendaring, which allows street lights to go dimmer at a certain time in a certain area, add dynamic lighting response where the lights can light up more when someone walks past in the lighting system and tele-management, then up to 90% of the energy consumed could be avoided.

“If we are able to help our customers see that the total cost of ownership makes such a compelling story to make the switch today, then we can have the green switch,” he says.

the refurbishment of businesses, the easiest way to go geeen.

“A majority of the business infrastructure has been put in place more than 10 years ago and not all of them have upgraded their lighting to today's possibility. This is where the biggest wastage is,” he says.

“Every building that is using an inefficient solution for its lighting needs presents an opportunity to move the needle in the right direction,” he adds.

Signify Thailand partnered with the UOB bank’s “U-energy” programme to offer project financing to companies that want to make a green impact.

Tapping solar power

The third element is solar. Thailand is blessed with a lot of sunshine, so to make it a viable option for lighting simply change into a solar base lighting system.

“The solar lights at the 23.5km circuit of the “Happy & Healthy Bike Lane” round the Suvarnabhumi Airport fully trap the sun and give light through the night. Why should the rest of the city not embrace this?” he poses.

A good solar system needs to be able to harness energy, store the energy without losing it, and be able to convert one energy to another, he explains. Our R&D efforts in this area allow us to offer to our customers the most efficient solar lighting systems in the world

The fourth element is agriculture.

Signify uses a different light duration, intensity and spectral composition of light, which is called the “Philips light recipe”, a tailor- made instruction for lighting designed to help achieve the best results for specific species of crops in horticulture.

The same principle also has been used to create species-specific light recipes for poultry breeds and for aquaculture specifically developed to improve farmer outcomes in shrimps, tilapia etc. .

The next element is Circularity, which is recycling waste material into a 3D printed solution offering to enhance and design light fixtures.

“With this nothing is used and thrown,” he said. "We are shifting the paradigm from ‘cradle-to-grave’ to one which is about ‘cradle-to-cradle.’"

The last element is a connected system for professionals and consumers.

The professional connected lighting system can be a street light system that acts as eyes and ears of the city and then processes and responds to the data being picked up.

On the other hand, it can be lighting systems that increase productivity and reduce accidents in warehouses or lighting systems that help optimise space utilisation in office buildings.

The last two strategy frontiers are digitalisation and being a great place to work.

Digitalisation is to be used at work and for the company to interface with customers.

“To reflect the society that we serve, we take inclusion very seriously. Everyone is encouraged to be who they are,” he says.

Carbon-neutral

Signify’s strategy for Thailand this year is to grow despite major uncertainties happening globally.

The aim is to contribute to six out of 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, which are: good health and well-being, gender equality, affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.

“We are a carbon-neutral company that sends zero waste to landfill, that uses 100% of renewable electricity consumption. I believe that we are a company that has its heart in the right place,” he says.

If someone aspires to be carbon-neutral or to reduce their carbon footprint, Jagannathan is certain there’s a way Signify can help them with their lighting.

“As long as someone experiences a sunset, you are a customer and a consumer for lighting,” he says.

Photographer: Kaeowkao Pongpaiboon