PepsiCo, Inc. (PepsiCo) has launched a new pilot program to test all-natural refrigeration system in Pepsi-Cola vending machines in Washington, D.C. area. As per this program, The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG), a unit of PepsiCo, is placing 30 Pepsi-Cola vending machines in high-consumer traffic areas in Washington. These machines consume less energy and generate 12% less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than current vending machines.

The machines feature the new Pepsi logo along with a special green refrigerant sticker and use carbon dioxide (CO2), a natural refrigerant, instead of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). This marks the first time that vending machines cooled by CO2 have been introduced in the US.

This project is part of PepsiCo’s broad commitment to reducing the environmental footprint of the vending and cooling equipment used to sell its drinks. To accomplish this, PepsiCo is focusing on three areas:

Energy: Improving the energy efficiency of its machines, as energy use accounts for the vast majority of refrigeration equipment’s GHG emissions;

Insulating Foam: Eliminating HFCs from the insulating foam in vending machines, coolers and fountain equipment;

Refrigerants: Using green refrigerants instead of HFCs in its equipment.

Many people don’t realize that the largest part of a vending machine’s GHG emissions — about 95%, in fact — come from the energy required to run it, said Robert Lewis, vice president of packaging and equipment development for PepsiCo. The insulating foam and refrigerant gases are responsible for the rest, and we’re committed to reducing all parts of the equation.

PepsiCo has been improving energy efficiency of its vending machines and coolers. The 2008 model vending machines consume 51% less energy than 2003 models, and 2008 coolers consume 44% less energy than their 2004 counterparts. PepsiCo used foam to insulate its vending machines and coolers to be free of HFCs. Through these developments, PepsiCo has reduced GHG emissions from its refrigeration equipment by 598,000 metric tons, an average of 282,000 metric tons/year, which is equivalent of removing 52,000 cars from the road in a year or planting 125,000 trees annually.

In addition to the CO2-cooled machines included in this pilot program, PepsiCo is testing thousands of machines around the world that rely on other green refrigerants, specifically isobutane and propane, that also have a lower climate impact than current HFC refrigerants.

We’re constantly looking for ways to make our business more efficient and environmentally sustainable, said Lewis. This field test will help us evaluate the performance and reliability of these new machines in a real-world environment. We hope to get a sneak preview of what sustainable refrigeration could look like on a larger scale.

In 2006, PepsiCo joined other industry leaders and environmental groups in Refrigerants Naturally! (RN), a global initiative focused on addressing climate change and ozone layer depletion caused by hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gases in point of sale refrigeration equipment. As part of RN, the group is working together as an industry to eliminate use of HFC in refrigerated point-of-sale equipment. RN is supported by Greenpeace and the United Nation Environment Programme and is recognized as a Partnership for Sustainable Development by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.

The mission of PepsiCo to adopt more sustainable equipment is part of its commitment to sustainable growth, defined as Performance with Purpose. PepsiCo has announced certain objectives to reduce water consumption by 20%, reduce electricity consumption 20%, and reduce fuels consumption by 25% per unit of production by 2015 as compared to 2006.

Recently, PepsiCo has received a 2009 Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in recognition of its continued leadership in protecting the environment through energy efficiency.