Consumer goods industry to consider broader use of naturals

Back in 2010, the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) – which brings together over 400 manufacturers and retailers of consumer goods seeking to pursue more sustainable, safer and consumer-friendly business practices – adopted a resolution recognising that the HFCs used in the majority of refrigeration systems are powerful greenhouse gases and pledging to replace them with naturals.

The resolution saw CGF members pledge “to begin phasing out HFC refrigerants as of 2015 and replace them with non-HFC refrigerants (natural refrigerant alternatives) where these are legally allowed and available for new purchases of point-of-sale units and large refrigeration installations”.

Natural refrigerants gaining ground 

Fast-forward to 2016, and CGF members have installed low-carbon refrigeration systems in over 4,000 supermarkets and four million ice cream and drinks chiller units worldwide. The majority of these systems use natural refrigerants.

On 20 January, the CGF board formally triggered the development of a potential new resolution demonstrating industry’s commitment to further increasing natural refrigerant uptake in the coming years.

“The CGF has been a leading voice on phasing out harmful HFC refrigerants since 2010. And, although 2015 is now over, we remain committed to helping members amplify the impact of their solutions and in bringing the entire industry forward,” said CGF refrigeration group co-chairs Emma Coles (Vice-President, Responsible Retailing at Albert Heijn and Royal Ahold) and Andre Fourie (Senior Manager, Environmental Value at SAB Miller).

CGF members’ experiences have helped to raise industry awareness of natural refrigerant technologies, their performance and the availability of trained installers and maintenance engineers.

For some, the switch to naturals can pose particular challenges, for example in terms of financial implications, operational issues or how different systems work in different climates. CGF member companies had to work with each other, governments and technology suppliers to overcome such problems.

"This has helped us to discuss the barriers and solutions to a faster and geographically wider uptake of natural [...] refrigeration systems, [to] help those that haven't yet explored or invested in these refrigeration systems to realise the benefits of doing so; and [to] give suppliers confidence that the sector is interested in this technology," Ignacio Gavilan, director (sustainability) at the Consumer Goods Forum, told R744.com. 

Major multinationals leading switch to naturals

The CGF’s new ‘Refrigeration Booklet’ showcases how companies like Carrefour, Sobeys, and Unilever are phasing out HFCs and replacing them with natural refrigerants.

Since 2011, for example, supermarket giant Carrefour has been investing in the conversion of its refrigeration facilities for fresh and frozen goods – both in stores and on lorries – to ‘supercritical’ CO₂ fluid.

“Collaboration with technical service providers has enabled the development of this new, clean technology in all countries in which Carrefour operates. So far, an initial 170 stores have been equipped. Even better, Carrefour is stepping up to the challenge of this technological roll-out, with tests in Spain and Brazil: a first for such latitudes,” said Carrefour Chairman and CEO Georges Plassat.

Delhaize Group, meanwhile, currently has CO₂ transcritical systems and 44 CO₂ cascade systems in Belgium and Luxembourg. In 2013 it also launched a programme to incentivise refrigeration technicians to minimise leaks. Taken together, these efforts led to a 25% reduction of refrigerant emissions per m² of sales area between 2013 and 2014.

Canadian supermarket chain Sobeys Inc. is already committed to phasing out HFCs in favour of naturals. As of September 2015, 78 Sobeys stores across eight Canadian provinces – in addition to 63 in Quebec operating under the IGA banner – were using CO₂ transcritical booster systems with heat reclaim. Each year, another 15 to 20 stores both new and renovated are equipped with the systems (see R744.com; 20/01/16).

Unilever – the world’s largest producer of ice-cream – is accelerating its roll-out of ice cream freezer cabinets that use hydrocarbons, a natural alternative to HFCs. Hydrocarbon freezers have a negligible GWP compared to HFC models. Brewing giant Heineken, meanwhile, is also working with its fridge suppliers to replace HFCs with hydrocarbons.

At the CGF, meanwhile, consideration of further steps to boost uptake of naturals begins now.

“The board has called on the CGF sustainability team to look forward and discuss how best to drive scale-up beyond 2015, including the possibility of a new resolution,” said Coles and Fourie.