For years, the Coca-Cola system has measured the carbon footprint of its entire supply chain, from the growth of sugar in beet form to the disposal of the eventual package by the consumer.
It has been calculated that the factor with the largest impact on carbon footprint is refrigeration, which accounts for 38% of the total. It was an obvious conclusion to do something about this, and from 2000 it has been made a 10-year priority at Coca-Cola in Europe and worldwide.
Refrigeration in the non-alcoholic drinks market covers vending, coolers and to a small extent fountain equipment. Two main elements contribute to its carbon emissions. Just 5% is due to direct emissions of greenhouse gases, namely the Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) used in foam insulation and as a refrigerant gas. A phased response to use natural substitutes of HFCs is under way, and these will be eliminated completely in the next five years.
Through working with Greenpeace, Coca-Cola is making rapid progress in this task and moving particularly fast in Europe.
We’re moving to HFC-free refrigerators. We’ve tested them, we know they’re reliable, and as first movers in this sector it’s stimulating the supply chain and the cost is coming down for everyone.
And the cost to us as manufacturers? As we step up our momentum and orders to the compressor, manufacturers increase, so the differential cost comes down.
In Europe, 70% of all our new chillers will be HFC-free as of this year, and today we can say that 100% will be HFC-free by 2015. In fact, if the commercial refrigeration user market followed our HFC-free lead, that would bring down global yearly carbon emissions by 2050 by an amount equivalent to the overall C02 emissions of Germany.
However, the second part of the equation is the greater part, in that 95% of carbon emissions by our refrigeration equipment is due to use of electricity.
The greenhouse impact this has varies from country to country, with France creating less than the UK for example, as more of its power is nuclear. This is where our energy management systems really come into play.
We’re installing new coolers with updated hardware that’s far more eco-friendly, and new software with far-reaching benefits. By installing software that detects motion in opening patterns, the cooler goes into standby mode when a shop isn’t being used. The chill cabinet uses internal and external sensors to calculate the time to reach optimal temperature for when the shop opens in the morning and similarly drops temperature at the end of the day.
It’s important never to switch off completely, as this would cost more to bring it back to optimal temperature. This saves approximately 35% on emissions, which of course varies from model to model, but is generally the case for a single door cooler.
It also depends on shop opening hours and so isn’t useful for 24-hour shops and coolers used in airports, for example.
Two thirds of all new purchases now incorporate this software as part of the package. The two main compressor suppliers to Coca-Cola are Frigoglass, which supplies the Ecobox and Elstat, which supplies the EMS55.
We currently have 2.3m energy management systems installed in the marketplace worldwide. Our main equipment suppliers in Europe are Frigoglass, Sanden and ISA, and our most common equipment is the single door Frigoglass FV 650, with a capacity of 720 cans.
We’re also replacing neon lighting with LED lighting where possible, which saves still further, and we’re well on the way to achieving our target to reduce energy use by our refrigeration equipment by 4-50% in 2010 (compared with 2000).
As first mover, we’re pleased to see so many companies following suit, and as this environmental movement gathers momentum, costs drop even further.
Salvatore Gabola is director of public affairs for Coca-Cola Europe.
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