British consumer goods giant Unilever is conducting trials with warmer freezers for ice cream products in a bid to help achieve its long-term environmental objectives.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is investigating the impact of increasing the temperature in almost three million ice cream freezers from zero to 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
To adapt to the warmer freezers, the firm will need to reformulate its well-known ice cream products, which include Ben & Jerry’s, Klondike, Breyers, and Magnum, in order to prevent them from melting.
Unilever expects that elevating the freezer temperature could lower energy consumption and carbon emissions by 20 to 30 percent per unit. Last May, the company issued a press release confirming the first stage of testing and outlining the various costs.
"With a current industry standard in many markets of -18°C, Unilever’s ambition is to move the temperature of its retail sales freezers to -12°C to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in a move which it hopes will drive industry-wide change," the statement read at the time.
Unilever has long encouraged its brands to adopt progressive positions on social and environmental concerns. One of its most popular brands, Ben & Jerry’s, has previously boycotted Israel, introduced a 'Social Justice Flavor', and supported the defunding of the police.
The company has already conducted experiments with higher-temperature freezers in Germany and Indonesia and owns freezers in 60 countries. It expects the research to take as long as 15 years to determine the feasibility of warmer freezers on a global scale.
“These pilots will provide valuable information on how much energy we can save and how our ice cream products perform in warmer freezers to ensure we deliver the same great-tasting ice cream," said Matt Close, the company's head of ice cream, in a press release last year. "We’re actively seeking to collaborate with partners from across the ice cream and frozen food sectors to drive industry-wide change, so the collective positive impact is far greater.”