DC Gets Green Vending Machines

It was recently released that DC is the test city for 30 new “green” vending machines getting rolled out by Pepsico. As more and more attention is brought to environmental footprints, large companies such as Pepsico are starting to react to the noise. According to Reuters.com, “the new machines use 5.08 kilowatt-hours of energy per day, down about 15 percent from a nationwide average of 6 kilowatt-hours used by current machines. Current machines already use 44 percent less energy on average than the machines used six years ago.”

It is amazing what a little public pressure can do to start changing the product landscape and company’s priorities. Although 30 machines is only a small dent in the 4 to 5 million machines Pepsico owns around the world, it is a distinct example of how a little innovation can drastically improve the performance of everyday machines. 44 percent less energy is a huge amount, not to mention that these new machines are an even further improvement on this 44 percent. 

Surely Pepsico has a long way to go, but this effort is a positive signal and hopefully an indicator of future progress. Pepsico has also set an example by carrying out this endeavor with Greenpeace Solutions, a branch of www.greenpeace.org. This partnership demonstrates how the non-profit and corporate worlds can work together in a proactive way by undertaking a project; a noted shift from the rather passive relationships many non-profits have had with corporate entities in which the non-profits simply advocate for a cause and the companies pay membership dues. Now, with new green vending machines, Pepsico and Greenpeace Solutions are actually working together to introduce improved, greener consumer products.

Source: www.reuters.com

Photo Credit: CC-licensed by Flickr user Michel Filion