World ofHeineken 43 winter 2010
Green
is Cool
Heineken's long-term ambition to become the world's greenest
brewer doesn't stop at the brewery door. It means working with others
throughout the value chain to make a difference. In October 2010,
Heineken paid tribute to green fridge supplier, Frigoglass, presenting it
with an award in recognition of its recent achievement in scooping the
EU's European Business Award for the Environment 2010.
Heineken recognises that cooling beer at the point of sale makes a
significant contribution to the company's carbon footprint. To address
this, the company introduced a global policy earlier this year which
specifies that every new fridge installed, either as a new installation or a
replacement, must meet more stringent energy efficiency standards.
In 2008, after ten years of environmental research, Heineken supplier,
Frigoglass made a commitment to produce an environmentally friendly
range of coolers that would also be commercially viable. Just one
year later, they brought to market the world's first complete range
of environmentally friendly beverage coolers, at a competitive price.
In 2010, the EcoCool range already makes up an impressive 22% of
Frigoglass sales in Europe.
Frigoglass is now Heineken's main supplier of fridges that meet the new
'green' specification. Frigoglass EcoCool fridges minimise the impact on
the environment through the use of refrigerants that don't damage the
ozone layer, natural substances in the insulation process, and efficient
energy management. The fridges can also be fully recycled at the end of
their useful life.
At the European Business Awards this year, Frigoglass was recognised
as one of the top three companies in Europe in the Sustainable Product
category for its EcoCool cooler range. As a long-standing Frigoglass
customer, the Heineken Global Purchasing team invited Tom Aas, Ice
Cold Merchandisers Chief Operating Officer at Frigoglass, to attend the
conference and be recognised for this great achievement.
Presenting the award, Mark Bekkers, Heineken Global Purchasing,
said: "Frigoglass has played a significant role in helping Heineken to
implement our green strategy and will continue to be a strong partner
as we continue to drive our 'Brewing a Better Future' programme."
Referring to the relationship between customer and supplier, Tom Aas,
commented: "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."
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Tom Aas accepts recognition from Yuri
Schwalbe, Heineken Global Purchasing
