Eco-Drive: An original CITIZEN technology that drives watches using light-and nothing else.
Kind to people and the planet, it doesn’t need regular battery replacement.

We take batteries for granted in our everyday lives,
but there are parts of the world where they are not readily available.
Light, by contrast, is available to all of us, wherever we are.

“If light could be turned into energy to drive watches,
then people everywhere would enjoy equal access to time.”

That insight inspired our Eco-Drive light-powered technology.
And it inspired us to create CITIZEN L with Eco-Drive:
fuss-free watches that don’t need regular battery replacement.

Watches with Eco-Drive do not generate polluting battery waste.
That’s because unlike traditional disposable batteries,
whose life ends when their charge runs out,
Eco-Drive features a built-in secondary cell for energy storage.

CITIZEN sells around 4 million Eco-Drive units annually.
Hypothetically, that means 4 million fewer disposable batteries are thrown away every year.
Piled on top of one another, four million batteries
would stretch 8,400 metres into the sky.
In other words, they would make a mountain of battery waste
almost as high as Mount Everest!

The zeitgeist is changing. We have chosen a future
where disposable batteries are no longer the norm.
We owe that much to the Earth and our fellow humans.
Above all, we have a duty to bequeath a healthy planet to later generations.

CITIZEN L has published an Ethical Commitment
governing its conduct in five different areas
and implements manufacturing processes
that respect the environment and human rights.

ETHICAL STORY

Sunlight is not the only kind of light that can power an Eco-Drive watch.
When your watch is on your wrist, it’s busy generating energy from dim,
everyday light sources like desk lamps or office ceiling lights.
Your watch will keep on telling the correct time without stopping based on any kind of light,
whether artificial lighting or sunlight.