Unilever and its iconic ice cream brands, among them Ben & Jerry’s, jointly announced yesterday, 14 February, that they plan to roll Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s bring hydrocarbon cabinets to U.S.out hydrocarbon refrigerants ice cream freezer cabinets in the United States in 2012. The decision comes under the “Greener Freezer Program” initiated in 2008 by Ben and Jerry’s and developed mainly upon Unilever’s global HC refrigeration expertise.
In the course of this year, ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s and from other Unilever brands (including Breyers, Good Humor, Klondike, Magnum, and Popsicle) will be available in the US in hydrocarbon cabinets using at least 10 percent less energy than the current F-gas ones.
“It’s a great day when Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever’s efforts to introduce innovative technology positively impacts the environment,”said Jostein Solheim, CEO of Ben & Jerry’s.“Since 2008, we have worked alongside Greenpeace in pursuit of a more responsible freezer for the US. For us, this sweet success is an environmental victory.”
A step in the “Green Freezer Program”
Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever’s environmental commitment will be demonstrated by “Greener Freezer” stickers put on the cabinets. The “Greener Freezer Program” was initiated by Ben & Jerry’s in the autumn of 2008 to build on Unilever’s global HC refrigeration expertise and advance in their joint concern to tackle the companies’ environmental impact.
Undoubtedly, the implementation of the HC freezer cabinets would not have been possible without the SNAP rule announced last December by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and coming to enforcement from 21 February, 2012. After four years of trials and coordination, the US EPA indeed recently approved the technology behind the hydrocarbon freezer cabinets for use in the US, which Unilever has used for several years across Europe and Asia.
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan
Unilever’s launch of the environmentally friendly freezers represents the latest proof point of the company’s Sustainable Living Plan, an aggressive commitment launched in 2010 to reduce Unilever’s environmental impact while doubling its business.
Unilever’s legacy in environmental stewardship within the ice cream sector is strong. In 2000, the company committed to stop buying cabinets using hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs). In 2004, Unilever started replacing these cabinets with climate-friendly HC refrigerants. Today, Unilever has more than 900,000 HC freezers in markets across the globe and has committed to purchasing all its US freezers using the HC technology.
In 2011 alone, Unilever rolled out 22,000 climate-friendly freezers in non-US markets, resulting in a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 12,000 tons of CO2.
