COOL BIER Conference - Sustainable Coolers of the Future

November 17, 2022 /3BL Media/ - As noted in The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) 2019 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Sector Guidance, cooling or refrigeration represents up to 20% of a beverage company's greenhouse gas emissions. Given the majority of companies in the beverage sector now have Net Zero commitments, exploring ways to reduce the environmental impact of commercial refrigeration equipment is surmounting.

Fortunately, BIER’s 2022 workstream on sustainable coolers, comprised of BIER members Heineken, AB InBev, Molson Coors, Diageo, PepsiCo, and Carlsberg Group, has been addressing the environmental impact of commercial refrigeration equipment and recently held a COOL BIER Conference. The two-day event was hosted by Heineken, led by BIER, and held live in Amsterdam to actively engage with suppliers of cooling equipment to explore the next generation of cold drink coolers.

Marking a first - this event was the first of its kind as it was the first time BIER members and commercial refrigeration equipment producers met to discuss the sustainability of refrigeration equipment together in the acknowledgment that value chain collaboration is important for sustainable solutions within sectors.

The two-day conference included the following topics:

• The importance of Collaboration
• Cost of Inaction
• Sustainability Is a License to Operate; Not a Competitive Advantage
• The Beverage Industries’ Science Based Targets
• The Set Net Zero Value Chain Carbon Emissions Targets
• Why Energy Is The Highest Contributor to CO2e Emissions
• A Panel Discussion On The Future of Energy Efficiency in Cooling
• The Need for Energy Consumption standards | Standardized Test Procedures to Fridges
• Circularity roadblocks and opportunities
• Circularity best practice examples and refurbishment programs
• Guiding principles on (design and infrastructure for) circularity

Notable outcomes resulted from a well-engaged event and unquestionably, momentum has been sparked! Through BIER, the beverage industry commits to jointly find ways to reduce the environmental impact of our commercial refrigeration equipment, recognizing that sustainability is our business, using our scale and partnership to drive meaningful positive change.

More developments are expected to follow in 2023 as attendees continue to explore ways to reduce together the environmental impact of cold drink refrigeration equipment for the next generation of cold drink coolers!