Vending Machine Deployment in Japan Surpasses 100000 Units

May 21, 2015

“Peak Shift” Vending Machine Deployment in Japan Surpasses 100,000 Units Coca-Cola Japan makes steady progress on its 2020 deployment plan

for the Japanese market

Coca-Cola (Japan) Co., Ltd. (head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; representative director and president: Tim Brett) has announced that the number of “peak shift” energy-saving vending machines deployed in the Japanese market nationwide surpassed 100,000 units as of May 21, 2015. This indicates that the Coca-Cola system is making steady progress toward attaining its goal of having peak shift vending machines account for more than half of all Coca-Cola system vending machines installed nationwide by 2020.

The Coca-Cola system has been quick to address environmental issues associated with vending machines, introducing, for example, “peak period power cuts”1 in 1995 and HFC-free vending machines in 2005. Energy-saving peak shift vending machines were developed as a sustainable response to power supply constraints during daytime hours in the wake of the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Peak shift technology moves the hours that vending machines use electricity for cooling from the daytime, when power consumption generally peaks, to the nighttime, when supply is not as tight. The vending machines can therefore supply cold products 24 hours a day without using any power for cooling for a maximum 16 hours between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., thereby cutting daytime power consumption by up to 95%. The Coca-Cola system started deploying the vending machines across Japan in January 2013, installing 28,000 units in the first year. In 2014, installation progressed twice as fast as the previous year, topping 60,000 units by July, and now the total number of units installed has surpassed 100,000.

The Coca-Cola system has set a goal to have peak shift vending machines account for more than half of all Coca-Cola system vending machines deployed in the Japanese market by 2020 and will continue efforts to reduce power consumption by vending machines while striving to deliver to consumers delicious products they will enjoy.

1. A function that turns off cooling between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. from July to September, when electricity demand is at its peak

Efforts to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of Coca-Cola system vending machines 1

The Coca-Cola system started incorporating peak period power cuts into its vending machines in 1995 and has deployed vending machines that employ a number of innovative technologies, including smaller compressors, heat pumps, solar power generation, LED lighting, and motion sensors. Over the past 15 years, annual power consumption per machine unit has fallen to one sixth.2

As a global warming mitigation initiative, the Coca-Cola system in Japan is advancing installation of vending machines that use no HFCs, which were originally used to replace CFCs but which have potent greenhouse effects, and has set a goal to make all vending machines in the domestic market completely HFC-free by 2020. Peak shift vending machines employ CO2, a gas with relatively low global warming potential even among natural non-HFC refrigerants.

2. According to research by Coca-Cola Japan

Peak shift vending machines Energy-saving peak shift vending machines can supply cold products 24 hours a day without using any electrical power for cooling for a maximum 16 hours between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., thereby cutting daytime power consumption by up to 95%. Insulation was improved without altering vending machine size or product holding capacity by employing vacuum insulation materials. These materials are 10 times more efficient than polyurethane foam materials used in conventional vending machines despite being only one tenth as thick. And whereas conventional vending machines employ “zone cooling” to cool just some of the products, peak shift vending machines cool all the products with “total” cooling, using products inside the machine to keep the temperature cold and successfully increase cooling efficiency. CO2 is used as a natural non-HFC refrigerant that contributes little to global warming.

Peak shift vending machines earned Coca-Cola Japan an Excellence Award for an Energy Saving Product at the 10th Eco-Products Awards as well as the 2013 Energy Conservation Grand Prize recognizing examples of energy conservation activities in the Minister Prize of Economic, Trade and Industry.

About Coca-Cola System The Coca-Cola system in Japan is comprised of Coca-Cola (Japan) Co., Ltd., which supplies concentrates, plans and develops new products as the Japanese subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company, along with seven nationwide bottling partners and three system affiliated companies. The Coca-Cola system refreshes Japanese consumers through more than 50 sparkling and still beverage brands. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, our portfolio features a range of global brands such as Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola Life, Fanta, and Sprite, in addition to brands originally developed for the Japanese market including Georgia, Aquarius, I LOHAS, and Ayataka. The Coca-Cola system is the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, coffees, and sports drinks in Japan. In line with global policy that positions consumers (individuals), communities, and the environment as the focus of sustainability initiatives, the Coca-Cola system is carrying out activities across Japan in nine core areas. For more information on the Coca-Cola system’s vending machines and sustainability initiatives, please visit the following websites: http://www.cocacola.co.jp/vending-machine/ www.cocacola.co.jp/sustainability/