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HFC-Free Cooling Equipment Transition
 
Focus areas: Adaptation, Mitigation 
Website
Location: Global
Established: 12 March 2009
 

In 2000, The Coca-Cola Company committed to a dramatic reduction in its carbon footprint by cutting energy consumption 40 percent by 2010, and by developing and commercializing hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-free refrigeration technologies. In December 2009, The Coca-Cola Company announced a new objective of being 100 percent HFC-free for new cold-drink equipment purchases as of 2015. The company’s Energy Management System (EMS) field tests show up to a 35 percent reduction in energy use.

Through its involvement with and as a co-founder of Refrigerants Naturally! and its commitments through The Consumer Goods Forum, The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners are committed to improving the energy efficiency of its cooling equipment for its beverages, and replacing harmful fluorinated gases ("F-gases," such as HFCs) with natural refrigerants for its coolers and vending machines.

The Coca-Cola Company is delivering on this goal by introducing HFC-free cooling equipment to its customers in outlets throughout the world as well as further integrating its state-of-the-art energy management systems that help customers manage the energy use of their on-site coolers.

 

Mitigation / Adaptation

Benefits

Potential for scaling-up and replication

The Coca-Cola Company has been able to improve the efficiency of its refrigeration equipment and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by this equipment. Some of the results include:

- Improving the energy efficiency of its cooling equipment by 40 percent. A large part of the progress is due to the company’s work developing an intelligent EMS that delivers energy savings of up to 35 percent when placed on its equipment.
- Transitioning to HFC-free insulation foam for new equipment, eliminating 75 percent of direct GHG emissions as compared to traditional refrigeration equipment.
- Identifying a natural refrigerant gas, CO2, to replace HFC refrigerant gas and are phasing out the use of HFCs in all new equipment by 2015.
- Coca-Cola has over 550,000 units of HFC-free refrigerated equipment in use throughout its system. The company recently executed a significant new CO2 compressor supply agreement, which will enable it to triple its use over the next two years.                       

The Coca-Cola Company collaborates with peer companies, NGOs, government officials, customers and others to identify the areas where it can improve the overall energy efficiency of its cooling equipment and phase out the use of harmful “F-gases” in its equipment. Through these efforts, The Coca-Cola Company has been able to help its customers – many who operate in highly-populated urban areas and some who are starting new businesses – effectively manage and often reduce the energy use from coolers in their stores.

In addressing climate change, The Coca-Cola Company has pursued collaboration opportunities with peer companies, NGOs, government officials and others. For example, the company coordinated a Sustainable Refrigeration Summit, bringing together diverse companies to explore more rapid adoption of natural, HFC-free refrigerants. That summit laid the groundwork for The Consumer Goods Forum’s pledge to start phasing out HFC refrigerants by 2015. The Forum’s commitment was announced in November to coincide with the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico (COP16).

The Coca-Cola Company is moving forward to be 100 percent HFC-free for new equipment purchases by 2015. They have also placed over 4.3 million energy management devices, reducing their customers’ energy consumption by an estimated 4.1 billion kWh/year – saving them approximately $336 million/year and delivering corresponding emissions reductions of approximately 2.4 million metric tons/year.  Over the past decade, the company has invested more than USD $60 million in research and development to advance the use of climate-friendly, HFC-free cooling technologies.

As a result of the Coca-Cola system's commitment to eliminate the use of HFCs in its equipment, carbon emission reductions will exceed 52.5 million tons over the life of the equipment – the equivalent of taking more than 11 million cars off of the road for one year.

 
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