Greenpeace activists gave away the climate criminal awards to the top three lighting manufacturers Philips, Surya and Bajaj in recognition of their contrbution to climate change outside the Bombay Stock Exchange. A spoof awards function was held to launch the release 'The Greenpeace Guide to Climate Safe Lighting’, a ranking guide of the Indian lighting industry.
"This ranking guide is a report card on how the lighting
industry fares in its response to the biggest threat the planet is
faced with today, the threat of Climate Change, and honestly the
results are dismal!" said K Srinivas, Climate and Energy Expert,
Greenpeace. "Industry needs to wake up to the realities of Climate
Change right away. Inaction is not an option and in fact it could
set our economy on a downward spin if we don't face up to the
challenge right now." [3]
Following the press conference, Greenpeace took the message to
the heart of corporate India by erecting a podium at the financial
hub of the country, the Bombay Stock Exchange and presented the
Climate Criminal awards to the top 3 climate villains. The branded
bulbs stepped on to the winners stand to collect their trophies of
ignominy.
The ranking is primarily based on net avoidable carbon
emissions. The guide also compares companies on their overall bulb
efficacy to rate their commitment towards Energy Efficiency,
Avoiding carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency are the
critical steps to fighting climate change.
"It is illuminating that Philips, a company that projects itself
as a responsible corporate citizen and boasts of having a strong
environmental policy, is the leading Climate Criminal in our
assessment. Now that their bluff is called it is time they get
proactive and commit to phasing out the hazardous light bulb in the
interest of the planet and its people", added Srinivas. In the
fiscal year 2005/06, Philips manufactured just 12 million Compact
Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) as against 163 million incandescent light
bulbs (GLS).
An incandescent light bulb uses only 10% of the energy it
consumes to produce light, the remaining 90% is wasted in the form
of heat. In comparison to an incandescent bulb, a CFL consumes
around 20% of electricity to produce the same amount of light. By
just banning the bulb, India could save up to 12000 MW of
electricity, leading to a reduction of almost 4% in its CO2
emissions.
Greenpeace calls on the lighting industry, especially the
biggest contributors to climate change Philips, Surya and Bajaj, to
take responsibility and immediately announce a plan to phase out
the hazardous GLS lamps by 2010. This will not only solve a
significant part of the country's power problem but also
considerably reduce India's CO2 emissions.
For further information, contact
K.Srinivas, Climate & Energy Expert, Greenpeace Ph:09845112130 
Sandeep Bhattacharjee, Greenpeace Communications Ph:09342501806 
Notes to Editor
1. Download the Greenpeace Ranking Guide from: http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/reports/ranking-guide
2. Criteria explained: The carbon emission from the production of GLS lamps was calculated first. Then the carbon emission avoided due to CFL’s sold was calculated. The net avoidable emission was the emission from the GLS lamps minus the avoided emissions due to CFL.
3. Assessment of climate impacts in the Nicholas Stern Report on climate change