The concept for the Refrigerant Drivers License (RDL) came out of discussions during a breakout session at the Milan Centro Galileo Conference in July 2013, resulting in myself being invited by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) to address the first Global Supply Chain conference in New York, alongside the 2014 AHR Expo in New York.
I was invited at the time as president of the Air conditioning and Refrigeration European Association (AREA) to address the conference and discuss the concerns surrounding the safe and responsible use of alternative refrigerants, including the impending proliferation of A2L (mildly flammable) gases. In particular, there were concerns over R-32 and the lack of appropriate working equipment.