December 5, 2007—The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has joined with the supermarket, refrigeration equipment, and chemical refrigerant industries to launch the new GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership—a voluntary program to promote green technologies, strategies, and practices that protect the stratospheric ozone layer, reduce greenhouse gases, and save money.
The ten GreenChill founding partners are: Whole Foods Market; Food Lion; Giant Eagle; Hannaford Bros.; Harris Teeter; Hill PHOENIX; Honeywell International; Kysor//Warren; Publix Super Markets; and DuPont.
These partners, as well as those in the future, must pledge to go above and beyond regulatory requirements by establishing an inventory of current refrigerant emissions that may affect climate change and the stratospheric ozone layer, and then setting reduction targets for these emissions.
Partners will also participate in an industry/government research initiative to assess the performance of cutting edge “green” technologies in terms of energy efficiency, reduction of ozone-depleting refrigerant charges, and minimization of refrigerant leaks.
To counteract the depletion of stratospheric ozone, partners guarantee to use only ozone-friendly alternatives and advanced refrigeration techologies in all new and remodeled stores.
As an example of GreenChill Partnership initiatives that decrease the impact of supermarkets on climate change, EPA estimates that widespread adoption of advanced refrigeration technologies, best practices, and improved equipment design and service could reduce refrigerant emissions by one million metric tons of carbon equivalent per year, and will lead to increased energy efficiency and reduce operating expenses to the industry by over $12 million annually.
For more information visit EPA’s GreenChill Partnership Web page.
