Business Bureau, Gulf Today

Signify, the world leader in lighting, and Diamond Developers, the real estate developers of one of the worlds’ first fully sustainable communities, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) as part of their mutual commitment to utilize creative and innovative technologies and solutions designed to promote sustainability.

The signing took place at Sustainable City, a Diamond Developers project and the first fully sustainable community of its kind, modeled to become an international showcase for high quality sustainable living. The agreement is a testament to a collaborative approach that seeks to accelerate innovation in sustainable energy and vertical farming.

The partnership is in line with Signify’s strategy and purpose to unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world and its commitment for sustainable revenues and operations across the globe.  During the signing ceremony of the MoU, Goktug Gur, President and CEO of Signify, Middle East, Turkey and Pakistan, said: “Our mission at Signify is to improve people’s lives with meaningful innovations. In collaboration with Diamond Developers, our technologies will support the UAE in its transformation towards a smart city that is sustainable, livable, and connected. We are proud to have Diamond Developers as our key partner and we are looking forward to creating a positive socio-economic impact together.’’

Faris Saeed, CEO of Diamond Developers – The company behind The Sustainable City - added: ‘’We are committed to transforming the UAE into the most sustainable country in the world through adopting innovative solutions and technologies. Through our valued partnership with Signify we will be incorporating a wide range of advancements to the city’s lighting infrastructure to deliver a substantial improvement in the overall quality of life in our cities.”

The agreement is built on two pillars of collaboration; the first pillar is centered around providing the latest advanced lighting solutions and innovations that contribute to the city’s green branding and drive its overall sustainability. As the lighting company for the Internet of Things, Signify aims to utilize its IOT platform, Interact, to deliver new data-enabled services to expand its value from lighting products to systems and services, offering new capabilities to unlock the extraordinary potential of light within sustainable cities.

The second pillar focuses on horticulture solutions, in which Signify distinguishes itself through a customer-centric approach, where a plant specialist and application engineer work together to offer the grower a business case, financial services, plant growth expertise, installation expertise, LED systems and community networking.

Innovative farming technologies, such as LED lighting, now make it possible to grow plants in indoor environments without sunlight.

Vertical farming is a reply to the environmental problem that exists today in horticulture – how to provide fresh food to urban environments in a way that’s efficient and sustainable. Using lighting provided by Signify, customers can grow and process consistent, high-quality produce in one location in a vertical farm that can be close to retailers and consumers. The idea is to push boundaries to deliver quality products to consumers in a sustainable way.

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. With 2017 sales of EUR 7.0 billion, we have approximately 30,000 employees and are present in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. News from Signify is located at the Newsroom, Twitter and LinkedIn. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page. The Sustainable City in Dubai is the world’s first fully sustainable community, and GCC’s happiest community.

An icon of Dubai, it represents a new era in Real Estate, where social, environmental and economic facets are perfectly considered and seamlessly blended, to offer harmonious, quality sustainable low carbon living.

Born from a vision to accelerate the transition towards sustainable development, The Sustainable City demonstrates the living, working proof of this future ready concept and acts as a benchmark for sustainable living.

Located in Dubailand, the mixed-use development spans some 46 hectares and provides an array of green residential facilities and amenities with no negative impact on the environment.

A unique concept which redefines sustainable living; offering energy efficient housing, with net zero energy impact, zero maintenance and low service fees, green education and health care and a host of indoor and outdoor leisure and wellness activities, an urban farm, green mosque and innovation center.