Revising how your company uses refrigeration equipment comes with a double bonus. You can save money and help protect the earth’s ozone layer in the atmosphere.

Thanks to smart design work and investment in advanced technology, a Massachusetts grocer has won EPA’s first ever, GreenChill platinum store award. Star Market in Newtown has cut its use of ozone-depleting refrigerants by 85% compared to the typical supermarket. The store is part of the Shaw’s Supermarket chain.

EPA’s GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Program promotes use of ozone-friendly refrigerants. Partners pledge to emit 50% less refrigerants than industry averages.

Targeted emissions include the group of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds that not only destroy the ozone layer but also contribute to global warming. Many refrigerants are far more potent greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide (CO2).

Plugging refrigerant leaks and upgrading to new technology saves money and the planet. EPA says if all grocers joined the GreenChill program, the U.S. could reduce CO2 emissions by 22 million metric tons a year, cut ozone-depleting compounds by 240 tons a year and save $108 million a year.

Other grocery chains have recently been recognized for their efforts to reduce reliance on CFC refrigerants. For example, King Kullen and Wild By Nature, two grocers on Long Island, NY, recently received New Partner Awards from the GreenChill program. Like all participants, they agreed to:

• go beyond regulatory requirements to measure and track their refrigeration emissions
• set CFC use-reduction targets, and
• use only ozone-friendly alternative refrigerants in new and remodeled stores.

Some refrigeration equipment manufacturers are also part of the GreenChill program. For example, commercial refrigeration designer Hill Phoenix recently won a Distinguished Partner Award from EPA.

Tags: GHG emissions, GreenChill, King Kullen, ozone-depleting compounds, Star Market, Wild By Nature