Daikin Europe is expanding its circular economy programme to all VRV units manufactured and sold across Europe. The L∞P by Daikin programme saves 250,000 kg of virgin refrigerant from being produced yearly by giving Europeans access to recovered and reclaimed refrigerant. Independent certification guarantees that the reclaimed refrigerant fully meets quality standards and is correctly allocated to certified L∞P by Daikin VRV units. Daikin plans to expand the programme to other products and refrigerants as part of its global refrigerant policy.

Daikin, a market leader in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC-R), is today announcing an expansion of its L∞P by Daikin circular economy programme for refrigerants. The key principles of the programme are simple: Daikin recovers refrigerants from existing systems through its installer network, upcycles and reclaims them to virgin quality, and then allocates the reclaimed refrigerants to new VRV systems manufactured and sold across Europe.

The programme is a perfect example of a circular economy, leveraging the entire Daikin ecosystem and its business partners across Europe.

250,000 kg of virgin refrigerant production saved yearly

L∞P by Daikin was launched in 2019 for selected Daikin VRV units, but thanks to the programme’s success, the company is now expanding it to all VRV units produced and sold in Europe from November 2020. Specifically, L∞P by Daikin will now cover all EU member states, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

In total, L∞P by Daikin saves 250,000 kg of virgin refrigerant being produced yearly. Since its launch, L∞P by Daikin has proved popular in the European market. The programme makes it easier than ever before to reuse refrigerants, and has been adopted by companies such as Action. The Dutch retail chain with over 1,400 stores across Europe uses reclaimed refrigerant from their old stores in new or refurbished stores.

Perfect match with European Green Deal

The L∞P by Daikin programme fits perfectly with the ambitions of the European Green Deal Circular Economy Action Plan, which Daikin Europe fully supports. The European Commission aims to reduce waste, plastic and material use across the Union. Innovative circular projects such as L∞P by Daikin with a tangible impact on natural resource use are one of the HVAC-R industry’s contributions to the fight against material waste.

Furthermore, the reuse of reclaimed refrigerant has no impact on the EU F-gas Regulation quota and supports the growth of the HVAC-R industry in a sustainable way. An independent audit process guarantees that the reclaimed refrigerant meets the exact same quality standards as virgin refrigerant. This process also ensures the correct administrative allocation of the reclaimed refrigerant: for every certified L∞P by Daikin unit on the market, there is an equivalent 100% reclaimed refrigerant used at Daikin’s factories.

‘Potential to become an industry standard’

Daikin will continue to invest in its L∞P by Daikin programme as part of its sustainable strategy. The company is committed to further expanding the programme in the short term to cover more types of refrigerants and different product ranges.

“We extend a hand to all of our partners, installers and customers to join forces and pave the way to a circular, European economy. By doing so, every euro invested in reclaimed refrigerant boosts European business and reduces our environmental impact. We believe the L∞P by Daikin principle has the potential to become an industry standard, and will hopefully inspire other HVAC-R manufacturers,” concludes Toshitaka Tsubouchi, vice-president of Daikin Europe.

For more information on L∞P by Daikin, please visit www.daikin.eu/loop-by-daikin

The plant unit in Perbál of ZIMBO Perbál Húsipari Termelő Kft. became the property of SPAR Magyarország Kereskedelmi Kft. After the successfully closed transaction, the company modernizes further the meat plant in Perbál handed over in 1998. Furthermore, the employee personnel of almost 200 persons continues to be in safe situation under the pine tree logo.

„The most important endeavour of SPAR is that we provide quality food deriving from Hungarian ingredients as much as possible for the table of the customers. It is the same in the segment of fresh meat and meat products as well, where by our Regnum Meatplant in Bicske, we can continuously adjust the production of the products to the changes of the customer demands. Over the last period, because of the increased demand we decided to extend our production capacity. By the plant in Perbál that now becomes our property, the SPAR-group is increased with an already tested unit that is capable of high capacity and keep in mind the high quality, which enhances our position on the domestic meat market” – informed Gabriella Heiszler, CEO of SPAR Magyarország Kereskedelmi Kft.

The plant in Perbál is named as Regnum Meatplant Perbál in the future. The products produced here will be available in the own network of SPAR and in all of its franchise stores, moreover, the production processes of the plant in Perbál will be synchronized together with the processes of the plant in Bicske. In the near future, more significant developments is carried out in the new plant unit: the cooling technology is modernized among others. From a quality management view, similarly to the already existing plant, the processes in Perbál will also be operated by the ISO 22 000 system: the planned date to obtain the certification is the following two years.

„The plant of Zimbo in Perbál is operated further from 2nd November in the food-production business branch of SPAR. Our product range is increasing continuously and at the end of the year, the first SPAR products from Perbál arrives to the entire network of SPAR. The almost 200 employee here can continue to work further now within the SPAR-group. Together with them, almost 600 experts enhance the SPAR-team in the food-production business branch. With the increase, the range of our own-brand products becomes larger and the Hungarian product sortiment is strengthened. In the last year, we produced 40 thousand tonnes of meat products, our capacity is extended significantly from 2021” – added Ferenc Horváth, managing director of food industry at SPAR Magyarország Kereskedelmi Kft.

The newest hypermarket of SPAR, the 34th INTERSPAR has won the title „Store of the Year” in the hypermarket category. INTERSPAR Tata opened last year was built with special solutions and environmentally friendly technologies were applied at its construction. At the competition announced for the sixth time this year, SPAR retail store chain has also won the title „Green Retailer of the Year”

Due to the coronavirus situation, the expert panel evaluated online the applications this year. By giving the award, they would like to call the attention every year to the most outstanding commercial units. The criteria: customer friendly, product range, sustainability, quality of services, indoor design of the store, special solutions and services.

Green retail to protect the environment

Cornerstone of SPAR’s business philosophy is the environmentally conscious corporate governance. The retail store chain applies more and more eco-friendly solutions from waste management through logistics to advertising activities and it involves its customers into their operation. The environmental protection and the endeavour to sustainable development became part of everyday life in the store network, the logistics centres, food processing plants and in the administration centre as well.

INTERSPAR Tata

INTERSPAR Tata was built in June 2019 in the framework of an investment worth of 4,2 billion HUF and it provides a living for 78 employees. The construction of the 5200-square-meter hypermarket is unique because the horizontal supporting structure, the beams and the ceiling panels are made completely from wood. The externally aesthetic, environmentally friendly use of material was supplemented with environmentally friendly technologies. Ozone-friendly cooling system and refrigerator doors, energy efficient LED-lighting were installed into the facility. Underfloor heating/cooling provides the ideal temperature of the complex. Besides the use of the generated waste heat, heat pump system ensures the heat and cooling demand of the building without requiring natural gas. The estate with near zero fossil energy requirement has high quality doors and windows and insulation, moreover, use of solar energy emerges: solar pavement provides electricity to the phone chargers placed at the playground.

GreenDependent Institute, in cooperation with the Piliscsaba-Garancstető Advocacy Association, assessed the carbon footprint of the lifestyles of 20 households. The aim of the project implemented with the financial support of Daikin Hungary is to make citizens aware that lifestyle changes can significantly reduce the environmental impact of households. And the reduction is inevitable, as the average carbon footprint of Hungarians is twice as high as the sustainable level.

In 2020, August 22 was the Earth Overshoot Day, by which time humanity has run out of the Earth’s renewable resources in that year. Although this date is more than three weeks later than in 2019, further efforts are needed to ensure ecological balance. At the request of the Piliscsaba-Garancstető Association, GreenDependent Institute calculated the annual carbon footprint of 20 families in Piliscsaba. The primary goal of the project, implemented with the financial support of Daikin Hungary, is to raise awareness to the fact that a lifestyle change of citizens is inevitable in reducing environmental impact and more efficient energy use. Known for its high-quality cooling and heating systems, Daikin is a committed believer in sustainable development. On one hand, Daikin places great emphasis on reducing its own CO2 emissions while creating products and solutions that minimize CO2 emissions and energy use for their partners as well.

Research methodology

As part of the project, GreenDependent Institute calculated the annual carbon footprint of 20 families. The 20 families filled an online questionnaire themselves. The contributors        of the household carbon footprint were divided into 6 main categories: (1) household energy consumption; (2) transport; (3) leisure, vacation; (4) meals; (5) products; and (6) public services. This survey focused only on the first four categories.

Energy consumption accounts for one third of household carbon footprints

Based on the results, a total of 81 members of the families involved in the research had an average carbon footprint of 4.27 tons of CO2 in 2019, which is about twice the sustainable level. One third of the carbon footprint of surveyed households comes from energy consumption, partly because of the poor energy condition/level of the houses, partly  because of the careless/wasteful personal energy use. The next most determining factors are travel, vacations, and meals, which are responsible for about 20-20 percent of families’ carbon footprints. Daily travel is less than one-sixth of the footprint, and regular travel is only half of that. The annual carbon footprint of the members of examined families is about 4.3 tons, which is very close to the annual 5 tons per capita of average Hungarians  in a year.

Custom solutions are needed

The key message of the survey is that the composition of household carbon footprints can vary greatly from family to family, so each family should also apply their own individual solutions to reduce it. The sustainable level of emissions is 2-2.5 tons of CO2 per capita in a year, which is significantly exceeded by the average carbon footprint of both the families participating in the survey, and Hungarians in overall (5 tons / person). It is therefore essential to introduce further eco-conscious measures and apply individual solutions in the future.

The carbon calculator of GreenDependent Institute, as well as the webpage ‘Kislábnyom’ summarizing practical tips for reducing carbon footprints could be of great help  of Hungarians considering a lifestyle change. In reducing energy consumption of households Daikin Hungary could also be a very valuable partner.