No more cold drinks: Most of Quebec’s liquor stores are getting rid of their fridges

The Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) is drastically scaling again its provide of chilly drinks.

The Crown company says it plans to take away nearly all of fridges from shops throughout the province to cut back greenhouse fuel emissions.

Over the following 15 years, the two,700 fridges in its fleet will drop to 918.

As a outcome, the SAQ says its environmental footprint will plunge from 12.6 tons of carbon dioxide at the moment to 4 tons in 2037—an 83-ton discount over 15 years.

Équiterre, an environmental non-profit in Quebec, applauds the transfer.

“It’s always good to see that state-run organizations are showing an example and have an ambitious view on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and they are putting it into action,” mentioned government director Colleen Thorpe.

Thorpe says business fridges have “enormous” greenhouse warming potential as a result of they’re continuously opened.

The new measure follows a two-year pilot undertaking at three SAQ places: Atwater, Maisonneuve and within the city of Saint-Sauveur.

The outcomes counsel prospects are on board with the change however nonetheless need entry to some chilly drinks, mentioned the SAQ.

To hold prospects glad, it’ll depart one fridge in all SAQs and three inside its “Selection” shops. Express branches won’t be affected.

WHY NOW?

SAQ spokesperson Genvieve Cormier says the transfer is a part of a broader environmental plan.

“As a Crown corporation, Quebecers expect us to play an important role in society. So we are,” she mentioned. “We want to answer the collective call when necessary.”

The transfer may also imply extra price financial savings.

“It is certain that in the end, there will be a reduction in costs at the SAQ, that is certain. But that’s not the main objective of this initiative,” mentioned Cormier.

Sanjith Gopalakrishnan, assistant professor in operations administration at McGill University, says it is a good first step however there are “bigger pieces” to contemplate.

“This is clearly going to have some cost savings for SAQ, and there might be some environmental benefits as well. Then there are other initiatives like, let’s say, transportation, where it’s much less clear whether you can achieve an alignment between your economics and environment,” he mentioned.

“It remains to be seen whether they will proceed and target these harder-to-reduce emissions.”

FRIDGE DISPOSAL

About 90 per cent of refrigerant emissions are launched on the finish of the tools’s life, which means correct disposal is important, in keeping with Project Drawdown, a non-profit that analyzes local weather options.

“It is certain that we are very concerned about disposing of them in an eco-responsible manner,” mentioned Cormier.

She mentioned the fridges in good situation will go to meals banks and different organizations that want them.