Philips Semiconductors Awarded Fifth ISO 14001 Environment Management System Certificate

Business Wire, August 20, 1997

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 1997--Philips Semiconductors today announced its fifth international ISO 14001 certificate for its Environmental Management Systems.

The internationally recognized certificate was awarded to its Hazel Grove plant in Cheshire, UK and acknowledges Philips' Environmental Policy as being environmentally responsible.

The ISO 14001 is the international standard used to measure a company's commitment to managing the impact of its activities on the environment. Key elements in achieving ISO 14001 certification are evidence of a clear environment action plan and a published policy of continuous improvement.

The ISO 14001 targets global needs for environmental protection and is similar to the international ISO 9000 series on quality management. Criteria for awarding the certification are based on an international consensus by various stakeholders -- industry, government and environmental specialists.

"Increasingly, customers are choosing to work with companies who can prove their business activities have minimum impact on the environment," said Arthur Van der Poel, Philips Semiconductors' chief executive officer. "Our fifth ISO 14001 certificate means we are on target for all plants to achieve certification before 1999 and it places Philips Semiconductors in an excellent position to meet this growing need."

In September 1996, Philips Semiconductors became the first company in the world to achieve the ISO 14001 standard for its manufacturing plant in Bangkok, Thailand. Since then, plants in Hamburg, Germany, Stadskanaal, The Netherlands and Kaohsiung, Taiwan have all been awarded ISO 14001 status. Philips Semiconductors' plants in Sunnyvale, California and Albuquerque, New Mexico are on schedule for certification by the end of 1997.

One of Philips Semiconductors' most recent contributions to the environment was the development of new low-power, low-voltage CoolRunner logic devices. These new devices consume as little as 1/1000th of the power of traditional semiconductors and when used in laptop computers, produce power savings of almost 90 percent.

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Philips Electronics NV, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the ninth largest semiconductor supplier in the world. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video, and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets.

Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world, and are supported by regional customer application labs. Additional information on Philips Semiconductors can be obtained by accessing its home page at http://www.semiconductors.philips.com .

CONTACT: Philips Semiconductors

Jeanne Alford, 408/991-3626

jeanne.alford@sv.sc.philips.com

or

Miller/Shandwick Technologies

Marla Kertzman, 415/962-9550

mkertzman@shandwick.com