Unilever and Ben & Jerry's Bring Climate-Friendly Freezers to the U.S.

February 16, 2012

Unilever and Ben & Jerry's said they plan to roll out climate-friendly ice cream freezer cabinets in the United States in 2012.

HC Freezer image Ben & Jerry's ice cream, along with other iconic Unilever ice cream brands such as Breyers, Good Humor, Klondike, Magnum, and Popsicle, will soon be available in cabinets that use at least 10 percent less energy and replace harmful "F" gas coolants with hydrocarbon (HC) refrigerants.

The new freezers will be identified with "Greener Freezer" stickers in demonstration of Ben & Jerry's and Unilever's environmental commitment to help protect the planet.

"Over the last decade, Unilever has been at the forefront of sustainable innovation, significantly reducing the environmental impact of our ice cream cabinets around the world," said Kees Kruythoff, Head of Unilever North America. "Introduction of these more environmentally friendly cabinets in the U.S. is a critical advancement for the region."

The greener freezer program, initiated by Ben & Jerry's in the fall of 2008, relied heavily on Unilever's global HC refrigeration expertise. The undertaking was supported by a collaborative concern to address environmental impact by both organizations. After four years of trials and coordination, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently approved the technology behind the hydrocarbon freezer cabinets for use in the U.S., which Unilever has used for several years across Europe and Asia.

In 2011 alone, Unilever rolled out 22,000 climate-friendly freezers in non-U.S. markets, resulting in a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 12,000 tons of CO2, the company reported

In 2000, Unilever committed to stop buying cabinets using hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs). In 2004, the company 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 U.S freezers using the HC technology.

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Keywords: refrigerant emissions

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