GE Lighting and The Change Initiative Promote Energy-efficient Lighting in UAE Homes

Joint initiative targets to reach 70% UAE households by end-2014 with ‘direct to home’ service

GE Lighting and The Change Initiative, a one stop destination specializing in solutions that reduce human impacts on the environment and promote sustainable development, today announced a joint venture initiative to promote energy-efficient lighting across residences and commercial establishments in the UAE.

In addition to enabling building infrastructure owners to adopt energy-efficient lighting solutions, the joint initiative will drive a ‘direct to home’ service that makes it extremely easy for UAE residents – both residential and commercial – to access sustainable yet aesthetic LED lighting products.

The two entities will work to promote energy efficient lighting with a special focus on LED retrofits at homes and offices, which can contribute up to 70 percent savings in energy in existing buildings. GE and The Change Initiative also plan to reach nearly 70 per cent homes by end-2014 to generate awareness on the need to use sustainable lighting solutions. The joint initiative aims to service at least 7,000 households with efficient lighting systems through the ‘direct to home’ service.

Agostino Renna, President & CEO of GE Lighting Europe, Middle East and Africa, signed the agreement with Mr. Gundeep Singh, Founder & CEO of The Change Initiative at Light Middle East, the region’s largest exhibition for the lighting industry, being held at the Dubai International Convention Center.

Agostino Renna said: “The joint venture with The Change Initiative is a strong testament to GE Lighting’s commitment to support the sustainable development goals of the UAE. Lighting accounts for significant energy usage and recent studies have revealed that the use of energy efficient solutions can help achieve up to 75 per cent savings in energy consumption. Our joint initiative aims to encourage UAE residents to adopt sustainable LED lighting, thus contributing to not only energy use efficiency but also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

“GE is at the forefront of sustainable research and is transforming the world with innovative solutions. The Change Initiative is proud to be a part of this movement to make the world a more sustainable place,” said Gundeep Singh, Founder & CEO, The Change Initiative.

As part of the agreement, GE Lighting and The Change Initiative will promote awareness on energy-efficient lighting nation-wide, and also service the commercial sector with energy audits, studies on new and efficient models and total cost of ownership calculations.

GE Lighting will offer its full spectrum of LED lighting solutions for the ‘direct to home’ service to be facilitated by The Change Initiative. The direct to home service currently offers range of sustainable solutions like ECOVER home cleaning solutions, accessories, services like indoor air quality measurement and other energy saving solutions for homes.

The Change Initiative, inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline Group, on May 1, 2012, is committed to bringing sustainable solutions to both consumers and corporations alike, and therefore has doubled its product range since the launch and is consistently expanding on its offering by adding more innovative and sustainable products to the existing range. Some of the best-selling consumer products are Ecover (environmentally friendly cleaning detergents), organic and sustainable foods, and Bokashi compost bins.