Philips-MNS ECO-Camps Kick Off To Drive Education On Energy Efficiency

Third Phase of Philips Energy Efficiency Initiatives Educate Students to Energy-Efficient Lifestyles, Supports Government Initiatives

Children being taught to appreciate the environment

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The first Philips-MNS Eco-Camp was organized at the MNS Nature Education Centre at Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), Kepong. This is the third phase of the company’s energy efficiency initiatives in Malaysia.  This recent collaboration with the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) resulted in a series of eco-camps being organized for Kelab Pencinta Alam or Nature Club students from government schools in the Klang Valley. 

“The Eco Camp at FRIM was the first of the series, and saw a total of 30 students participating in a myriad of interesting nature based activities and practical learning that made their stay memorable,” said Andrew J Sebastian, Head of Communications of MNS. Winner of the inaugural Merdeka Award for the Environment Category 2008 and the Birdlife International Conservation Award 2008, MNS is the country’s largest membership based environmental non-governmental organization and the MNS School Nature Clubs or Kelab Pencinta Alam was established with the aim of instilling environmental values in schoolgoing children. To date, there is a total of 373 such clubs in schools nationwide, with about an impressive student members of over 15,000 individuals.

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“Children are our future generation and teaching them at a young age is essential in instilling good habits for the future. This also provides Philips and excellent avenue to get the message on energy efficiency as it is our opportunity to influence the co-curriculum syllabuses in schools,” said Christina Celestine, Director – Regional Sustainability/ Philips Malaysia Corporate Communications.

At this camp, students learnt more about energy efficiency and how they can help preserve the environment by making simple changes in their everyday lives. The Philips-MNS Eco-Camps consisted of a 3-day/2-night camp that were specially designed to emphasize on creating awareness through hands-on activities which include environmental issues, energy saving efforts and nature crafts. With the theme “Footprint in Nature” and targeted at primary and secondary school children, Philips’ energy saving fundamentals was also incorporated into the learning materials for the camp. 

Nur Farahhuda one of the camp’s participants said that she learnt many energy saving tips from the camp and thanked Philips for organizing such an amazing camp that she would never forget.  Another camp participant, Tengku Athirrah said that this camp has given her a lot of meaningful experiences and she expressed her hope that she would be participating in future camps like this. 

Children being taught on the sources of energy

Previously, Philips had tied up with a local agency to roll out the Philips Energy-Efficient Mobile Showhome – an effective learning tool which provided hands-on experience and education on renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Mobile Showhome contained five knowledge kiosks, all comprising of simple activities that gave a practical experience. The first phase saw the Mobile Showhome being brought to rural areas nationwide in 2007 to raise awareness and showcase energy efficiency, which was well-received by the villages.

This was followed by the second phase in 2008, where priority was placed on educating primary school children on energy efficiency with the help of the Mobile Showhome.

The need for greater awareness and education on energy efficiency and alternative energy sources today is more important than ever. A testament to this can be seen in the increasing costs of fuel as well as electricity. As of July 2008, the power tariff escalated 26 percent for commercial and industrial sectors, and 18 percent for households. While this has been reduced slightly by 2.7 percent and 5 percent for commercial and industrial sectors respectively as of 1 March 2009 with a 2.54 percent reduction for households, energy efficient lighting solutions combined with simple daily responsible practices are one of the key actions Malaysian households can adopt to manage their usage rates.

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“We have been very encouraged by the success of the first two phases, and this effort is a simple and straightforward but yet effective in driving awareness of energy efficiency. The Eco-Camp will help in cultivating and instilling the right responsible behavior in children, which we hope will plant the seed for a mindset that will preserve the environment for future generations.

Celestine also highlighted that with the new lighting technology available today, savings of up to USD$143 billion on energy costs are possible, reducing CO² output by 592 million tons per year. This equates up to 1560 million barrels of oil annually. Locally, Philips research has showed that if every household in Malaysia each replaced 60W incandescent lamps with three 11W CFLs, this would lead to energy savings of close to 1.5billion kWhrs. Given that Malaysia has approximately 5.5 million households, this would equal almost RM400 million in savings per year.

Christina Celestine, Director Regional Sustainability/Corporate Communications & Sustainability, Philips Malaysia

“We see an increasing focus by the Malaysian government on energy- and resource-related

issues. This can be clearly seen in the target for 350mw of renewable energy electricity by 2010 in the 9th Malaysia Plan (9MP), as well as the setting up of an Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry more recently. Philips has long been an industry leader in introducing cleaner, greener technologies, and is committed to helping the government reach its goal in reducing its ecological footprint as well as promoting sustainable development,” she said.

In its continuing commitment to dramatically reducing carbon emissions caused by the world’s lighting needs, Philips is leading by example in reducing its environmental footprint in all aspects of its business: in the products it creates; in its manufacturing and procurement; in the communities in which it works; and in the behavior and working practices of its employees.

Philips also reaches out through the A Simple Switch website (www.asimpleswitch.com) which invites people to make a pledge to switch to energy efficient lighting, as well as provides tips on how to save energy.