Goal:

As of 2015, all new cold-drink equipment will be HFC-free.

Progress:

Off track. In 2012, our system purchased approximately 245,000 units of HFC-free equipment (approximately 21 percent of new equipment purchases), bringing our global total to over 800,000 units.

Because of the high global warming potential of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), we are phasing out the use of HFC refrigerants in our cold-drink equipment. With more than 14 million dispensers, vending machines and coolers in the marketplace, we have an enormous opportunity to make a difference. We believe we can avoid the emission of more than 52.5 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent over the next several years—which is equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of over 10.9 million passenger vehicles.

In 2011, we reaffirmed CO2 as our system's HFC-free refrigerant of choice for new equipment purchases; at the end of 2012, HFC-free deployments across our system exceeded 800,000. Still, our efforts to deploy more HFC-free cooling systems in 2012 fell short of our ambition. Our goal was for 50 percent of all new cold-drink equipment to be HFC-free by the end of 2012. But only about 21 percent (approximately 245,000 units) of our 2012 cold-drink equipment purchases were HFC-free.  Difficulties in procuring HFC-free equipment in Brazil, India and other countries contributed to the slowdown in our progress.  We are developing strategies to address these challenges and get back on track for our 2015 goal.