Unilever on track to reach target of 850,000 climate friendly freezers by 2015

By Ginta Vanaga, May 02, 2013, 16:02 2 minute reading

In 2012 the world’s largest ice cream producer Unilever purchased around 332,000 new climate friendly freezer cabinets with hydrocarbon refrigerants, thus bringing the total number of hydrocarbon freezers purchased by the company since 2010 to over 800,000 units, as reported in the second Unilever Sustainable Living Plan Progress Report.

In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from refrigeration and to accelerate its roll-out of freezer cabinets that use climate friendly (hydrocarbon) refrigerants, in 2010 Unilever set a goal to purchase a further 850,000 climate friendly freezers by 2015, in addition to the 450,000 units the company already had at the time of the Sustainable Living Plan launch.

According to the latest Sustainable Living Plan Progress Report, with 332,000 new hydrocarbon freezers purchased in 2012, Unilever is close to reaching its goal of 850,000 units.

40,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions saved

Climate friendly freezers now used by Unilever have negligible global warming potential compared to the older freezers containing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Hydrocarbon freezers have also proved to be around 10% more energy efficient, states the Progress Report.

Unilever estimates that the energy efficiency of the freezers the company bought in 2012 avoided around 40,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions compared to the models purchased in 2008, before the Sustainable Living Plan was set up.

Environmental footprint and energy efficiency

Unilever’s objective is to halve the GHG impact of its products across their entire lifecycle by 2020. Between 2008-2010 the company succeeded in cutting GHG emissions from energy in manufacturing by nearly a third and manufacturing waste was halved. Consequently, the GHG footprint of the making and usage of different Unilever’s products has been reduced by around 6% per consumer since 2010.

Good progress has also been made in reducing GHG emissions from transport and manufacturing by increasing energy efficiency and using more renewable energy.

Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan

In order to substantially reduce its environmental impact Unilever launched in 2010 a Sustainable Living Plan, setting three main objectives that the company should achieve by 2020:
  1. Help more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being;
  2. Source 100% of agricultural raw materials sustainably;
  3. Halve the environmental footprint of its products across the value chain.

MORE INFORMATION

By Ginta Vanaga

May 02, 2013, 16:02




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