Since launching last November, the GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership has nearly tripled its membership and prevented emissions of 2.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to a report from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

GreenChill is an EPA cooperative alliance with the supermarket industry and suppliers to promote advanced technologies, strategies, and practices that reduce emissions of stratospheric ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases.

To chart progress in the future, GreenChill’s supermarket partners created baseline measurements of corporate-wide refrigerant emissions in 2007 and developed refrigeration management plans to reduce those emissions in 2008.

Compared to the rest of the supermarket industry, GreenChill partners are already emitting fewer ozone-depleting refrigerants and greenhouse gases than their competitors, and saving money at the same time, the EPA said. The partners’ savings in operating costs equal almost $13 million, it was reported.

If every supermarket in the nation joined GreenChill and reduced their emissions to the current GreenChill average, the industry could prevent the release of 13 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent and 157 ozone-depleting potential tons annually, it was said.

As of June 2008, GreenChill had 28 partners, including 19 supermarket chains, four advanced refrigeration systems manufacturers, and five chemical manufacturers.

The newest partners include ACME Markets, Albertsons Intermountain West, Albertson’s/Lucky Southern California, Bigg’s, Cub Foods, Farm Fresh Food & Pharmacy, Hornbacher’s, Jewel/Osco, Price Chopper, Shaw’s/Star Markets, Shop’n Save St. Louis, Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, Supervalu Inc., Arkema, Dow Chemical, INEOS Fluor Americas, Hussmann Corp., and Zero-Zone.

GreenChill partners are working to meet their goals with approaches such as improving equipment leak tightness at installation, developing a retrofit best practices guideline, and setting goals to convert more supermarkets to advanced refrigeration technologies, the EPA said.

For more information, visit www.epa.gov/greenchill.

Publication date: 09/01/2008