Mitsubishi Electric has many business locations around the world. How do Mitsubishi Electric employees, who play different roles in a wide range of business areas, approach their work every day? In this series of interviews, we take a look at the candid views of employees in different locations.

How do you keep a rhinoceros habitat sustainably warm during winter? In this article, we look at a sustainability partnership between Chester Zoo in the UK and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation that has created a comfortable environment for the animals.

Mitsubishi Electric's Zero Carbon Design Manager, Chris Newman, who is trained as a heating and cooling engineer, joined Mitsubishi Electric as he wanted to work for a company that manufactures such equipment. He travels around the UK supporting staff in various locations and he strives to achieve the best possible low-carbon design for heating and cooling equipment in buildings. He was also involved in the successful collaboration with Chester Zoo.

Chester Zoo uses air source heat pumps manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric, which are systems that not only keep the animal’s living environment warm, but also collect heat from the atmosphere to provide a heat source for heating without the use of fossil fuels. The main focus for Chris and his team was to install a heating system to keep the breeding house for species of endangered rhinoceros at a comfortable temperature. How can rhinoceros, whose natural habitat is in East Africa, be protected from the cold in the UK in the most natural way possible? — That was the mission for Chris and his team. Switching from fossil fuel technology to low-carbon heating, such as heat pumps, required consideration of not only the technical aspects, but also a number of issues including securing installation space, noise that may disturb the animals, maintenance of the equipment, and the impact on park visitors. The combination of Mitsubishi Electric's technical expertise, the knowledge and experience of Chester Zoo's sustainability specialists and engineering team, and the input of the zookeepers, who know the animals best, enabled all the challenges to be overcome.

For Luke Prosser, Sustainability Manager at Chester Zoo, partnering with Mitsubishi Electric was a no-brainer. Ensuring the welfare of animals is of paramount importance, especially in an environment where animals are kept. Chester Zoo has been using equipment from Mitsubishi Electric for many years and has found the quality and reliability to be excellent.

The Mitsubishi Electric heat pump was proposed by Robert Arathoon, Mechanical & Electronic Projects Manager at Chester Zoo. He was responsible for the installation of the heat pumps. For Robert, Mitsubishi Electric is a symbol of reliability and a brand he can use with confidence. He also considered other brands, but the fact that Mitsubishi Electric had everything they needed and could facilitate maintenance when required was a key factor in his decision. Robert says that he can get out of bed every morning in a good mood because he is proud of the work they do. In the future, he would like to strengthen the partnership with Mitsubishi Electric and be involved in the introduction of new products.

A new baby rhinoceros was born at Chester Zoo in the last 12 months since the installation of Mitsubishi Electric heat pumps. This is proof that the rhinoceros are happy and satisfied with their home. The UK and other countries are aiming to achieve "net zero" greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but Chester Zoo has set an earlier target of 2030. It is hoped that the warm collaboration between Mitsubishi Electric and Chester Zoo will continue to grow in the future.

Written by Our Stories Editing Team