LONDON, June 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Grundig and Beko, leading household appliance companies, participated in Europe’s major kitchen trade show, EuroCucina 2022, to showcase their latest product innovations and share insights from Arçelik CEO, Hakan Bulgurlu and Grundig Brand Ambassador, Chef Massimo Bottura.
Speaking at the Sustainability Talks, Hakan Bulgurlu and Massimo Bottura discussed the current state of the climate, food social sustainability and how failure to act on climate change now may drive a global food crisis that transcends economies and regions. Their discussion also turned to how companies should place sustainability at the heart of their business strategy, drawing examples of projects that Arçelik is pursuing to achieve its ambitious vision.
Commenting on the growing climate crisis, Hakan stated that "the amount of time left, to avoid an increase of 1.5°C in temperature, is incredibly small and the current state of the planet is, unfortunately, dire." Arguing that pursuing a sustainable business model is urgent, achievable and ultimately rewarding for companies, which is why Arçelik is deeply committed to reaching net zero by 2050.
The discussion also examined the impact of climate change on food security worldwide. Hakan stated that "the rising heat has already damaged agricultural capacity in many countries, which forces governments to limit or even ban exports of various crops. This creates a food shortage and leads to more and more people going to bed hungry, each night." To combat this crisis, Grundig partnered with Chef Bottura, who founded the Food for Soul Initiative in early 2016 to encourage communities to fight food waste in the interest of social inclusion as well as individual wellbeing. This project created the foundation of the relationship between Chef Bottura and Grundig.
Chef Bottura states that "Grundig is the only foreign company to which I am very closed both for a sharing of values and for gratitude because they were among the first to believe in my Food for Soul project. We both want to change things simply, connecting people can really make a difference to change the world. If you want to change something you have to stay together."
Grundig, as the official partner of Food for Soul, has set up more than thirteen refettorios, around the world. Refettorios aim to develop community spaces and experiences that promote sustainability and help tackle food waste. So far, these efforts have helped save more than 955 tonnes of food saved, distributed 2.08 million hospitality meals, and engaged over 100,000 chefs and volunteers.
In talking about solutions, Hakan spoke about Arçelik’s decarbonisation roadmap and ambitious plans to offset carbon emissions, which led to the topic of energy efficiency. Arçelik’s decarbonisation vision is led by the company’s effort to ensure energy efficiency in both the production and the products. As home appliances are such a necessity, the responsibility to reduce the large amount of energy consumed by these appliances falls on their producers. With that in mind, Arçelik aims to increase its products’ energy efficiency by 50% by 2030.
The talks appropriately took place in Beko and Grundig’s ‘Zero-Impact’ booth, which was designed by architect, Martino Berghinz and named, ‘Sustainability on Stage’. The materials used to create the booth were, altogether more than ninety-five percent reusable. Additionally, to highlight the guests’ overall sustainability experience, Beko and Grundig partnered with ZeroCO2, a company specialising in reforestation projects with high social impact, to carry out an in-depth Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis of Beko and Grundig’s participation in the event, and a subsequent offsetting operation. This operation involves a social fruit-planting project that will not only offset the CO2 emitted but also support local farming families by donating the planted fruit to contribute to their economic and food well-being.
The booth also featured Beko’s Beyond and Grundig’s Prologue Ranges as well as two Immersive Rooms, dedicated to telling a story of those technologies that are most representative of Arçelik’s commitment to sustainability. These rooms offered visitors, a virtual and multisensory experience. The products and their associated technologies included within both of these ranges demonstrates Arçelik’s efforts towards creating a manufacturing ecosystem that favours the circular economy. For example,
- Grundig’s FiberCatcher Washing Machines integrates the first-of-its-kind filter that collects and retains 90 percent of the microfibres produced by washing cycles, which would otherwise pollute the marine ecosystem, and consequently end up in the food we eat.
- Beko’s HarvestFresh Refrigerators are designed to better preserve the vitamin and nutritional contents of fruits and vegetables.
In its entirety Beko and Grundig’s zero-impact booth offered guests a holistic sustainability experience, while reaffirming Arçelik’s commitments to innovation in the service of a more sustainable future.
ARCELIK
With over 40,000 employees throughout the world, Arçelik’s global operations including sales and marketing offices in 51 countries, and 28 production facilities in 9 countries with 12 brands (Arçelik, Beko, Grundig, Blomberg, ElektraBregenz, Arctic, Leisure, Flavel, Defy, Altus, Dawlance, Voltas Beko). As Europe’s second-largest white goods company by market share (based on volumes), Arçelik reached a consolidated turnover of 6.5 billion Euros in 2021. Arçelik’s 29 R&D and Design Centers & Offices across the globe, are home to over 2,000 researchers and hold more than 3,000 international patent applications to date. In 2021, Arçelik achieved the highest score in the DHP Household Durables category for the 3rd year in a row in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment. Through its leadership position in sustainability and credible decarbonization roadmap for achieving net zero, Arçelik became the first and only company from its industry to receive the Terra Carta Seal by HRH Prince of Wales. Arçelik’s mission is ‘Respecting the World, Respected Worldwide.’
GRUNDIG
Grundig is the international home appliance brand of Arçelik, which is a multinational household appliances manufacturer that operates with 12 brands and employs over 40,000 people worldwide. Grundig is one of the world’s leading providers of products in the areas of entertainment electronics, small electrical appliances, and major home appliances. The brand remains true to its brand attributes including its extensive experience in the market for 76 years, user-friendly and elegant design, eco-consciousness, high standards, and quality control.
Grundig believes that a sustainable future starts at home. To support this vision, Grundig adopts the ‘Respect Food’ initiative aiming to inspire everyone to fight food waste by showing how to tackle waste in kitchens and with innovative products. Grundig fulfills its responsibility for sustainable business practice and makes an important contribution to its parent company, Arçelik’s 2030 sustainability targets with its sustainable partnerships and communication, energy-efficient product development, and innovation approach focusing on the circular economy, and other sustainability pillars. At the same time, Grundig further empowers its customers to achieve more sustainable living.
BEKO
Beko is the international home appliance brand of Arçelik, which is a multinational household appliances manufacturer that operates with 12 brands and employs over 40,000 people worldwide. Beko is one of the top 3 large home appliances brands in Europe*. The brand is FC Barcelona’s main partner, naming partner of Fenerbahçe Men’s Basketball Team and official supplier of European League of Legends Championship (LEC).
Beko has been focusing on healthy living for years, raising awareness and developing products that make healthy living possible and convenient. Beko’s brand mission is ‘healthy living is only possible on a healthy planet’. Beko is committed to protecting the planet by designing and manufacturing energy-efficient products and investing in resource efficiency in production.
*Source Euromonitor International Limited; Large Appliances as per "Major Appliances" in Consumer Appliances 2022ed, retail volume, 2021 data.
Beko Grundig Eurocucina 2022
