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End user
Carrefour hypermarket in Spain.
CO2
A Breakthrough Technology for Carrefour The global retailer is one of the leading users of transcritical CO2 refrigeration, which is delivering energy savings compared to traditional systems, even in warm climates
— By Mark Hamstra and Michael Garry
O
ne of the world’s largest retailers is focused on leaving a much smaller environmental footprint.
As of June 2017, Boulogne-Billancourt, France-based Carrefour Group encompassed 12,052 corporate and franchised stores, including hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores and cash-and-carry outlets in more than 30 countries. It’s also one of the world’s leading operators of natural refrigerant technologies. The company has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 40% by 2025
and by 70% by 2050, compared with 2010 levels. It is doing so through both a reduction in energy consumption and a reduction in CO 2 e emissions from refrigeration and transportation. As part of its effort to achieve those goals, Carrefour is replacing its HFC refrigeration systems with natural refrigerant technologies. Going forward, this will focus on transcritical CO 2 systems, said Jean Michel Fleury, director of international support at Carrefour, where he oversees innovation in energy efficiencies for all 10 Carrefour subsidiaries around the
world. His team also supports energy efficiency efforts among Carrefour’s franchise partners, which operate Carrefour stores in some regions. “The policy is to go to 100% natural stores [using transcritical CO 2],” he said. On its website, the company states that transcritical CO 2 refrigeration is “a breakthrough technology that has been tested and approved by Carrefour.” As of Sept. 1, Carrefour operated approximately 418 stores using natural refrigerants, about 90% of which use CO 2 ,
Accelerate Corporate
September 2017