2010 - Embraco

Interview Profile ManagementdifferentialsSustainaBIlityEnergyEffICIencyvalueChaINSoCIalinvestmentInternalPublICMATERIalItyGRIContent19Against the greenhouse effectOur concern with sustainability also extendsto the care taken to slow downglobal warming, a result of greenhousegas emissions. Our search for solutionsto this problem focuses on two strategies.One of them is to develop productswith greater energy efficiency. Indirectemissions of CO 2generated by theenergy production needed to operateany cooling equipment represent 80%of the sector’s total impact on globalwarming, according to the TEWI index(Total Equivalent Warming Impact).Therefore, the less energy consumed,the better it will be for the environment.The other strategy is to reduce the directimpact of the gases used, and weare investing in cutting-edge researchto develop equipment that operateswith gases of less greenhouse effectpotential. Natural refrigerants, such aspropane, are increasingly used in commercialand air conditioning systems.Our manufacturing technology forcompressors, lubricating oil free, alsoWhilst investing in energyeffICIency, we reduce theenvironmental impact of ourproducts in its entire life cyclecontributes in reducing the impacts onthe greenhouse effect, as it reduces theamount of gas used in the equipment.In addition, we have a production line ofEK compressors, which use CO 2as its refrigerantgas. It may seem paradoxical,since CO 2is considered one of the main“villains” of global warming. But it isnecessary to understand that this gas isused as a standard impact measure onthe greenhouse effect because it is oneof the most present in the atmosphere,but its potential effect can be more thana thousand times smaller than that ofconventional refrigerants such as R134.In the case of fugitive emissions, whenthere is the occasional release of fluidrefrigerants into the atmosphere duringthe replacement of a component or dueto a perforation in the refrigeration systems’line, for example, a ton of R134causes a damage equivalent to 1,300tons of CO 2.The demand for a CO 2based refrigeratorwas indicated by Coca-Cola, our partnerin the project’s beginning, when thecompressors were used in the Beijing2008 Olympics. This kind of change requirestime and adjustment of the marketitself, but we are looking to advancethis trend.Innovation and technologycan contrIBute to slow downclimate changeNew refrigerantgaseswe invest in technology toreduce the GHG emissionsof our products.