ECO-FRIENDLY FRIDGES TO QUENCH DRINKERS' THIRST
Today is World Environment Day – a good opportunity to focus on the hard work going on across our company, not just today, but every day.
Bavaria, our business in Colombia, has recently announced an investment of $15.3 million to purchase thousands of eco-friendly fridges for tiendas (stores) across the country.
“Colombians love their beer cold!” says Sergio Andres Ordonez Londono from Bavaria.
Fridges to cool beer are a must-have for every shopkeeper in Colombia, but the environmental downside is that many of these fridges still use HFCs – a greenhouse gas which is damaging to the ozone layer.
So Bavaria is taking direct action to remedy this problem by replacing old beer fridges with new ones that are completely free of HFCs. The new fridges use a cooling liquid called R-290, made from propane (a non-greenhouse gas). As such, R-290 meets all the international standards designed to reduce climate change; it is also non-toxic, which makes ongoing maintenance – such as dealing with leaks – much easier, cheaper and safer for tienda owners across Colombia.
In addition, because these new coolers chill beer quicker than their predecessors, they use far less energy and will save tienda owners money on their energy bills.
It's also a true ‘Made in Colombia' solution – almost all the 24,000 new cooling units Bavaria is buying are being manufactured in-country. In fact, only 120 fridges are being imported; these being highly specialized units that need to be shipped in from Mexico.
“As well as the environmental benefits, we wanted to ensure we gave work to our fellow Colombians, while supporting the national economy,” says Sergio.
“For the same reason, all our logistics support for this project is being provided by Colombian firms, as is the environmentally-safe disposal of obsolete fridges that we have arranged.”
The first batch of coolers was delivered in January this year and Sergio expects that all 24,000 will have been installed in their new homes by the end of this month.
This will make a useful contribution towards Colombia's national objective of reducing carbon emissions by 20% by 2030, while also helping the country meet its pledge to eliminate the use of HFCs within its economy.
“Taking care of the environment and tackling climate change is everyone's commitment,” says Luciano Carrillo, President of Bavaria.
“This is why we are working to reduce energy consumption by investing in these new units, which will allow us to expand our coverage in other regions of the country with new environmentally friendly and low-carbon equipment.”