OSRAM aims to reduce the mercury (chemical symbol = Hg) content of all our products to the lowest amount technically possible. We have done that in the past and we are putting our efforts to further reduction. OSRAM follows a ‘No Step Backwards’ policy, which in this context prohibits increases in hazardous contents in lamp development.

Mercury reduction is a paramount topic of our R&D activities in a holistic approach based on the following main principles:

• OSRAM is putting the highest focus on R&D for Hg reduction in consumer products and will continue to do so in future. This applies mainly to compact fluorescent lamps with integrated ballast (CFLi) where the consumer awareness for recycling is still low.
• By continually improving the dosing systems OSRAM has succeeded in reducing the mercury content of fluorescent lamps drastically – by more than 90% in LUMILUX lamps since 1976 (see graph). A great part of this success is owed to an OSRAM development for dosing mercury in fluorescent lamps, using a small mercury-containing iron pill that makes it possible to dose much smaller amounts than with liquid dosage.
• OSRAM focuses on maximizing the mercury mileage within a lamp, taking into account the amount of mercury used per thousand hours of lamp life. E.g. a CFLi  with a lifetime of 15,000 hours and 2.5 mg Hg offers a better ‘Hg mileage per 1000 hours’ compared to a 6,000 hour  lamp with a similar Hg content. The OSRAM Dulux EL Longlife (2.5mg Hg) and the Sylvania micro-mini twist (1.5 mg Hg) are best in class with lifetimes of 10,000 hours and 15,000 hours respectively. 
• Reducing mercury is not an end in itself, as is sometimes suggested in marketing claims. OSRAM considers other environmental aspects like energy efficiency, lifetime, production, CO₂ reduction and waste reduction. These factors all contribute to the environmental benefits of the lamp, and mercury shouldn’t be considered or regulated in isolation. Following our 'no compromise on quality' strategy, we will maintain our standpoint of using just enough mercury to achieve our acknowledged quality.
• New products and innovations like our T5 fluorescent lamps operated with low Hg content immediately upon their introduction into the marketplace. In our innovative products, we use considerably less mercury than allowed by the strict European RoHS[1] Directive.
• We are constantly improving our product and production technology to reach even lower levels of mercury per product, and we are continually upgrading our existing production facilities to implement such technologies.
• Older products like T12 or T8 fluorescent lamps with halophosphate phosphor needing higher mercury content will be proactively phased out.
• Although there is a high rate of lamp recycling in the commercial sector,  (in many countries regulated by law), OSRAM will nevertheless continue to reduce the Hg content in lamps over time.
• Different lamps have different requirements and there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. Specialized lamps (e.g. in the field of water purification or medical applications) might require a slightly higher Hg content in order to operate properly and for their rated lamp life.
• As further efforts to reduce mercury will require considerable investments (by all quality lamp manufacturers), a stringent market surveillance is necessary to maintain a level playing field in the best interests of consumers and the environment.
  
  [1] RoHS: EU directive on Restriction of (certain) Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment