Philips & Co was founded in 1891 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, by Frederik Philips and his son, Gerard. Recognizing the opportunity presented by the mass-market introduction of electricity and inspired by Gerard’s keen interest in science and engineering, the pair soon conceived a bold but timely plan: cost-effective, reliable electric incandescent light bulbs.
The 1900s were a time of dramatic social and economic change. During this time, Philips became the largest private employer in the Netherlands, with over 2,000 employees. As mass industrialization gathered pace, Gerard and his brother Anton invested in providing housing, healthcare, and sports, instilling a culture of social responsibility that continues to this day.
In 2021 it will be 130 years since Philips was founded in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Since then, Philips has become a household name around the world. With locations in over 100 countries. In the case of Portugal Philips was established in 1927, when the Lisbon-based Philips Commercial Society was founded.
Innovating with purpose
As a company that strives to be a leader in health technology, we believe innovation can improve people’s health and healthcare outcomes, as well as make healthcare more accessible and affordable. At Philips, our goal is to improve the lives of 2.5 billion people annually by 2030, including 400 million in underserved communities. Guided by our vision to make the world healthier and more sustainable through innovation, it is our strategy to help our customers meet a quadruple aim (better health outcomes, a better experience for patients and for professionals, lower healthcare costs) and to help people take better care of their health at every stage of life.
We view healthcare as a continuum, as it puts people at the center and is based on the notion of the journey in that care. Believing that healthcare should be seamless, efficient, and effective, “connecting the dots” for our customers and consumers by supporting the flow of data needed to care for people in real-time, wherever they are. Data and informatics will play an increasingly relevant role in helping people live healthily and manage the disease, and in enabling care providers to meet people’s needs, deliver better outcomes and improve productivity.
We see significant value in integrated healthcare by applying the power of predictive data analytics and artificial intelligence at the point of care, while improving care delivery across the healthcare continuum – optimizing workflows, increasing capacity utilization and leveraging primary and secondary prevention and population health management programs.
Social responsibility
Philips’ recognition of its social responsibility goes as far back as 1932, when it started screening its staff, and eventually the whole population of Eindhoven (the Dutch city where the company was founded) for tuberculosis.
Today, the company’s Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) commitments are enshrined in its new 5-year ESG targets and strategic plans. Philips is already carbon neutral in its operations and is set to further reduce its CO2 emissions in line with 1.5°C global warming and source 75% of its total energy consumption from renewables. The company also aims to increase revenue from circular economy solutions to 25% of sales by 2025.
