GreenChill’s recently implemented Store Certification Awards Programme has awarded the supermarket with the highest reduction in refrigerant emissions and in refrigerant charge. The awards presented in San Francisco this week are yet another step to drive the agenda for sustainable refrigeration, which might also take on board natural refrigerants in the near future.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cooperative alliance GreenChill began a Store Certification programme in October 2008 to recognise retail stores that achieve at least a 75% reduction in refrigerant emissions and 50% reduction in refrigerant charge, resulting in either gold- or silver-level certification. This week at the Food Marketing Institute’s 2009 Sustainability Summit in San Francisco the EPA has awarded top-performing supermarkets and refrigeration equipment manufacturers taking part in the U.S. GreenChill programme.
Among the companies awarded for highest percentage reduction of emissions chainwide were Whole Foods, and for “best of the best” stores using less than 300 pounds of refrigerant and having only a 1% leak rate Price Chopper’s Colonie, N.Y., store. The supermarket retailer Giant Eagle received three awards such as one for “best emission rate” and the retail grocery company Food Lion was given a distinguished partner award for “sharing everything they learn with other GreenChill partners”.
Commercial refrigeration system manufacturer Hill PHOENIX received a distinguished partner award recognising its advanced refrigeration technology. The company specialises in environmentally-friendly commercial refrigerated display merchandisers, refrigeration systems, integrated power distribution systems, and walk-in coolers and freezers has designed a CO
2 cascade system for low-temperature refrigeration that is installed in the frozen food departments of an American supermarket chain. Together with Food Lion, they unveiled a CO
2 secondary coolant system last year.
It is to be hoped that natural refrigerants can take a stronger role in the programme to eliminate ozone-depleting substances altogether and significantly limit GHG emissions. For this, however, barriers at the national and State level first need to be removed, according to EPA officials.
About GreenChill Partnership
The supermarkets taking part in the GreenChill Programme are already emitting fewer ozone-depleting emissions and greenhouse gases compared to other U.S. supermarkets. According to the EPA the country could save the equivalent of 22 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and 240 ozone-depleting potential tons each year—equal to the annual emissions from more than four million cars if all supermarkets reduce their emissions to the current GreenChill average.
