Sustainability
GWP
Term from the vending glossary
Global Warming Potential: a measure quantifying the warming potential of a substance relative to CO₂ (GWP = 1). R290 (propane) has GWP 3; obsolete F-gases such as R404A have GWP 3.920. The F-Gas Regulation limits the use of refrigerants with GWP >150, making R290 the standard in new refrigerated vending machines.
Global Warming Potential quantifies the climate impact of a gas relative to carbon dioxide over a defined period—typically one hundred years. Carbon dioxide thus serves as the reference with a value of 1; all other values are multiples thereof.
In the vending industry, this measure appears in refrigerants and has become a regulatory requirement: The F-Gas Regulation restricts the quantities that may be released to the market and prohibits refrigerants above specified thresholds in particular applications. Purchasing a refrigerated vending machine today therefore determines its spare parts availability over the next decade.