Sustainability: Plastic, IoT And The Rest!
2018 started with David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II shocking us to action. It ended with 'single-use' named word of the year and big businesses signing the UK Plastics Pact agreeing to make all plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. So far, 2019 has seen schoolgirl environmental activist, Greta Thunberg, spark world-wide youth climate protests before telling UK politicians in April to 'listen to climate scientists'.
Sustainability is a serious issue and in 2019 people are finally taking it seriously.
Plastic is a large part of the issue and a major focus especially in the worlds of hospitality and food-to-go. Businesses are rising to the challenge with nearly a hundred of the UK’s largest companies signing the UK Plastics Pact. Reusable, recyclable, compostable, collapsible, biodegradable, ecological and sustainable are becoming the new group of words people are drawn to in marketing messages.
Moving away from plastic for outer casings of machines is one way manufacturers are making a difference. For drinks machines, plumbed-in units help to address the problem as they in no way contribute to the environmental damage done by producing, transporting, storing and disposing of the larger plastic bottles used for bottle-fed water units or the smaller single-use drinks bottles. Not just environmentally sound, but time and labour saving too.
However, sustainability is not just about plastic. Two other large areas for improvement are the electrical energy consumed by products and the environmental cost of servicing units.
Some manufacturers are working on improving the heating and chilling technologies used in machines to make them as energy efficient as possible. In addition, many companies are including ‘low energy’ modes to minimise energy consumption.
The ecological cost of servicing units is easily overlooked. Engineers spend countless hours in vans with a limited stock of parts going to a repair visit they are not even sure they’ll be able to resolve. Here too, technology is helping with the Internet of Things (IoT) being used in some amazingly innovative ways. Advanced machines use telemetry to display technical metrics on a dashboard, run remote diagnostics and even allow REMOTE MODIFICATION of certain parameters to enable remote problem resolution all via a dedicated internet portal. If an intervention is required, engineers arrive informed & equipped for a first-time fix saving time, cost and environmental impact.
The multi award-winning range of BeviLaNatura drinks dispensers by Zerica the first range of highly sustainable drinks solutions to have all the elements previously discussed. Touchscreen operated and internet connected with a remote management and monitoring capability totally unique to this market and something most IoT solutions cannot provide, the plumbed-in, post-mix units dispense a variety of teas, coffee and juices.
In terms of energy efficiency, revolutionary chilling and heating technologies consume up to 30% less energy than similar solutions. Plus, product is stored at ambient temperature so no environmentally-costly fridges!
If that wasn’t enough, all products have personalised video upload functionality, and mobile app & NFC enabled payments.
Accolades include winning the Energy Efficiency category at the Foodservice Equipment of the Year Awards 2018 winning a SCI (Sustainability, Cost savings, Innovation) Equipment Award at Food & Hotel Asia (FHA) in Singapore, and being a Catering Insight Award finalist for Sustainability.
All produced in direct response to emerging market needs with Zerica’s inimitable Italian style and flair. Proof that sustainability is not all just about plastic and that we CAN do even more!
Get in touch: BeviLaNatura by Zerica
www.BeviLaNatura.com
uksales@bevilanatura.com
01223 931 017
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