Project Background
The food retail sector is responsible for two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Refrigeration alone accounts for up to 50% of energy used in a food store. Climate action in the food retail sector, in particular the use of sustainable cooling and heating, is hence inevitable to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050.
Natural refrigerants like hydrocarbons (R600a, R290 or R1270), carbon dioxide (R744), ammonia (R717), as well as water (R718) and air – all with a very low, or no, Global Warming Potential (GWP) – are a direct solution to reduce refrigerant related GHG emissions. They are already used in a rising number of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump (RACHP) systems. Still, small stores like organic food stores, butchers, or bakeries are often hesitant to invest in new refrigeration systems, climate-friendly refrigerants, and energy efficiency measures. The Refrigerants, Naturally! For LIFE project has helped them select the best options and reap financial and climate benefits.
Project Activities
The project goal was to raise awareness and training among the two main target groups to increase the uptake of climate friendly solutions in the long-term: 1) store owners in the small food retail sector, with a priority set on the organic sector and 2) RACHP technicians and servicing companies.
In a first step information on the current and future RACHP use in Europe’s small food retail sector, as well as challenges and needs of both target groups was compiled and analysed. Results from a comprehensive modelling exercise show the potential for greenhouse gas emissions savings in the EU’s small food retail sector.
Dedicated communication activities and tailored information and training materials are key outcomes of the project to create a mind shift in the target groups in the long-term. Main deliverables are guidance documents on relevant policies and regulations, climate friendly technical RACHP solutions, inventory and checklists and best-practise case studies for store owners. RACHP technicians can find information on available courses highlighting natural refrigerants in a training provider database Two free, self-paced e-learning courses – one for each target group – complement the tool-set.
To support store owners on their journey towards climate friendly shops, an online store check was developed to allow a first benchmark of emissions at store level, the calculation of cost and GHG emission savings related to the exchange of old with new appliances, supporting tools for climate-friendly and cost-effective buying decisions for RACHP equipment, and a product finder for climate friendly solutions. All communication materials, reports and tools are available in the five project languages English, German, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese on the project website refnat4life.eu.
Tools
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