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■ In the home, connected LED lighting is delivering exciting new lighting experiences through light recipes designed to help users feel more energized in the morning or more relaxed after a busy day with a multitude of colors to enhance any atmosphere.■ In the developing world, about 1.1 billion people – or one in seven – are trapped in light poverty, denied access to reliable electricity. Solar LED lighting has given us huge opportunities to “leapfrog” outdated technologies such as kerosene lamps to new clean-tech solutions. The Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Manipur, for example, have begun installation of more than 76,000 solar LED street lamps in rural areas providing better light and building safer, healthier communities. SOMETHING MORE THAN ILLUMINATIONFrom the capturing of fire as a tool, through technical advances that are transforming electric light into something more than illumination, lighting has undergone a dramatic evolution and seen equally dramatic periods of revolution. In the years to come we will see the complete disappearance of the 19th century incandescent light bulb – the end of the first mass electrical appliance – to be replaced by 21st century connected LED lighting systems and technology. Through ceaseless innovation and a commitment to the opportunities these breakthroughs afford, an era of more and better light is at hand – light that provides for a more sustainable world. ■ABOUT THE AUTHORHarry Verhaar has over 20 years of experience in the lighting industry, and is Head of Global Public & Government Affairs for Philips Lighting. He is responsible for the strategy, outreach and stakeholder management on energy & climate change, resource efficiency and sustainable development, with a key focus on the role of the LED lighting revolution.He has since the end of 2003 been the architect of the lighting strategy on energy and climate change, which has resulted in a global momentum on phasing out of old lighting technologies. He is an active member of a number of partnership and stakeholder networks, among which The Climate Group; Regions20 and the World Green Building Council; and is a member of the Advisory Boards of The Lisbon Council and the Global Cities Institute (and their World Council on City Data). He is responsible for Philips’ relationship management with the UN and the World Bank and is a founding member of UNEP’s en.lighten programme and the SE4All’s Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform. He is chairman of the European Alliance to Save Energy and president of the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association.Mr Verhaar is a recipient of the 2011 UN Leader of Change Award, and has received the Carbon War Room’s Gigaton award on behalf of Philips at COP17 in Durban, South Africa. In May 2015 he received the Energy Efficiency Visionary Award from the Alliance to Save Energy in Washington DC, USA. He holds an MSc in Solid State Luminescence from the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.ABOUT PHILIPS LIGHTINGPhilips Lighting, a Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) company, is the global leader in lighting products, systems and services. Our understanding of how lighting positively affects people coupled with our deep technological know-how enable us to deliver digital lighting innovations that unlock new business value, deliver rich user experiences and help to improve lives. Serving professional and consumer markets, we sell more energy efficient LED lighting than any other company. We lead the industry in connected lighting systems and services, leveraging the Internet of Things to take light beywond illumination and transform homes, buildings and urban spaces. In 2015, we had sales of €7.4 billion and employed 33,000 people worldwide. Above: Solar LED street lamps at Uttar PradeshAbove left: Harry VerhaarBelow: The Edge office building in Amsterdam