Partners in green fridges
Heineken
24
Brewing a Better Future Green Commerce
In 2010, we involved key partners in our Brewing
a Better Future programme. We shared our vision
and ambitions in order to reach a common
understanding and obtain their commitment
to work on improvement projects. Together,
we will focus on increasing the recycled content
in our packaging, weight optimisation, and energy
consumption during the packaging production.
To monitor our progress, we have defined KPIs,
which will be measured based on the best available
data from suppliers and partners. The data will
be collected on Operating Company level.
Cooling that's greener
To serve our beer at the optimum temperature,
we aim to use equipment with a low carbon
footprint and energy consumption. Our policy is
that wherever it is technically and legally possible,
every new fridge we buy will include:
The safe and more environmental friendly
hydrocarbon refrigerant
LED illumination
A thermostat with an energy management
system for large fridges (above 300 litres).
When these three elements are combined, we
expect an energy reduction of at least 35 per cent
as well as lower maintenance costs and a longer
lifespan for the fridges.
In 2010, we began implementing this new
approach and 80 per cent of our new fridges met
at least one of the above standards. At the same
time we have been working with suppliers to meet
our specifications globally. We will continuously
look for new technologies that enable us to achieve
our ambition of a 50 per cent reduction in carbon
footprint on our installed fridge base by 2020.
To monitor our progress we are developing a test
protocol to determine the energy consumption
of our baseline fridges and new green fridges.
But what about draught beer in pubs, bars,
restaurants and cafés? The review of draught
beer coolers we undertook in 2010 told us that
there is not yet a beer cooler that meets our
strict specifications. Therefore, in 2010, Heineken
initiated the development of 'green' draught beer
coolers. In 2011, we will pilot these new coolers
and we expect to begin the roll out in 2012.
Re-engineering of our David Draught® beer
installations is estimated to result in energy
savings of more than 35 per cent and even
higher carbon footprint reduction.
other significant energy reduction measures to reach
our ambition of energy reduction of 50 per cent on
our cooling equipment and further reduction of the
carbon footprint."
In 2010 we sourced approximately 130,000 fridges.
These provide consumers with a chilled beverage at
the point of sale, but also contribute to Heineken's
carbon footprint. In 2010, Heineken was amongst
the first brewers to globally commit to the latest
generation of environmentally friendly fridges.
These fridges use energy-saving technologies,
including LED lighting, a smart energy management
system and environmentally friendly hydrocarbon
refrigerants meaning that they consume between 35
and 50 per cent less energy, have a longer lifetime
and require less maintenance.
Kirsten Barnhoorn, Sustainability Manager at
Heineken, says Heineken is fully committed to
investing in eco-fridges that contribute to a greener
world. "We aim to serve our consumers a quality
beer, using best in class equipment with the lowest
environmental impact. Therefore, we decided not
only to implement hydrocarbon, but also to include
We are also working closely with
suppliers like Frigoglass to roll out the new
environmentally friendly fridges. "We need
to push each other to continuously improve.
Working in partnership with our customers
is important to us and we look forward to
working closely with Heineken so we can
support each other in our sustainability
ambitions," says Tom Aas, ICM Chief
Operating Officer at Frigoglass.
Klimasan, another supplier of fridges,
says that Heineken is the first brewer to
use natural refrigerants on a global scale
and that others will eventually follow suit.
"Heineken is a leader in the industry and
other brewers will now feel the need to
adopt these new technologies. Energy
consumption is becoming a big deal
in the eyes of consumers," says Erim §enocak,
AGM Sales and Marketing at Klimasan.
