The Science of the Festive Magic
Come December, Asia’s mega malls fill with locals enjoying a bit of festive cheer amid frosted Christmas trees and giant polar bears. Keeping shoppers suitably cool in this Winter Wonderland are hundreds of thousands of air conditioning units. Yet running them 24/7 comes at a high environmental cost.
In Europe, the spiritual home of the shopping mall, Evonik already offers eco-friendly hydrocarbons for air conditioning in a bid to lower greenhouse emissions.
If the history of the shopping mall is any indication, the concept has always benefited from a global exchange of ideas. When the first shopping mall opened in the 1950s in the US, it was the European concept of a “town square” that inspired Austria-born architect Victor Gruen to give American suburbanites a place to gather, shop and mingle. The Asian metropolises then built on the idea, giving us retail therapy on a scale never seen before. The ambitious, visionary mega malls of Bangkok and Hong Kong dazzle year-long, not just during the festive weeks.
These days, with environmental concerns on the rise, making malls more energy-efficient is top priority. It won’t be a breeze given the proliferation of shark-filled indoor aquariums and in-mall ski slopes, but progress is being made. Evonik’s new line of natural refrigerants marketed under the brand name DRIVOSOL® produces a high-purity Propane for refrigerants. Today, thanks to the technical advances, these hydrocarbon refrigerants can be used safely and cost-effectively. More energy-efficient than traditional fluorinated refrigerants, hydrocarbons offer a glimpse of a future where innovation benefits both the shopper and the planet.
Food that feels good
As anyone who has ever hosted a Christmas dinner can attest, what goes into the shopping basket can make or break a festive atmosphere. Tradition calls for labor-intensive recipes like roast turkey with all the trimmings, oven-baked fish or roast goose, so the stakes are high, and only the finest ingredients will do. And increasingly, “finest” is coming to mean not just fresh and organic but also certified sustainable.
Sustainable food production encompasses many areas, from animal welfare to food safety. To be certified as sustainable, processes used in food production must be non-polluting, economically efficient, as well as be safe for workers, communities and consumers. This might sound daunting, but there are many products already in existence that make compliance easier.
Enhancing livestock performance with nutritional supplements is a good start. Evonik’s MetAMINO®, an essential source of methionine, is among the most high-impact supplements for animals such as poultry, swine and fish. It works by boosting meat yield and feed conversion thanks to its excellent bio-efficacy and bio-availability in protein synthesis. Easy and safe to handle and dose, MetAMINO®, which comes in dry and crystallized form, also helps to optimize feed production processes. And when it comes to food manufacturing, Evonik’s ZEOFREE® is on hand to improve manufacturing of everything from dairy powder to seasoning and spices that turn your turkey leftovers into a delicious meal on Boxing Day.
The festive season in general offers those fond of optimizing every aspect of their lives plenty of opportunities to up their game. From perfecting grandma’s recipe with the help of the latest kitchen gadgetry to boosting one’s stamina with potassium-rich isotonic drinks before a strenuous shopping trip in their neighborhood mall, ‘tis the season to embrace both magic and science.
