Florida Ice & Farm Costa Rica (FIFCO) has reached its goal of becoming the first mass consumption company in Costa Rica to be certified as carbon positive.

Being carbon positive means that their actions for reduction and compensation where higher than the emissions of CO2 generated by their operations.

This achievement applies to the four manufacturing plants brewery, (Pepsi, Cristal bottled water and the recycling plant), the 10 distribution centers, and the administrative buildings of Florida Beverages; the operation center in el Coyol, Alajuela, the Musmanni production plant, the Westin Resort & Spa Conchal, vehicles and the product distribution operation.

The goal was set for this 2017 and the Institute of Technical Norms of Costa Rica (Inteco) was in charge of the auditing process and the verification was done by the Climate Change Direction of the Ministry of Environment.

“This means that we achieved not just a zero carbon emission footprint, but that our efforts also generated a positive impact in the environment”, explained Gisela Sánchez, Director of Public Relations of FIFCO.

To reach this status, the company had to reduce the consumption of fuel and electricity; they implemented the use of solar energy, a higher efficiency in the product distribution and the reduction of solid waste, among other actions.

The company has invested since 2012 more than US$16 million in its environmental goals. “This important achievement goes beyond our economic dimension. It makes us a competitive and differentiated company”, stated Sánchez.