Dec 26 2007
DuPont Refrigerants, together with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and several major supermarket chains and refrigeration equipment manufacturers, recently launched the GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership. The voluntary agreement will promote the adoption of technologies, strategies and practices to reduce emissions of ozone depleting substances (ODSs) and greenhouse gases, and increase refrigeration system energy efficiency.
"DuPont is pleased to work with the EPA and honored to be a founding member of the GreenChill partnership," said Diane Iuliano Picho, global business manager, DuPont Refrigerants. "The program goals are consistent with our commitment to deliver environmentally and economically sustainable cooling solutions that are helping the supermarket industry reduce its use of hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-22 and other ozone-depleting substances."
Most of the 34,000 supermarkets in the U.S. use HCFC-22 as their primary refrigerant, and a typical supermarket refrigeration system can lose about 25 percent of its total charge each year, which can deplete the ozone layer and add to greenhouse gas emissions. DuPont offers the broadest portfolio of cooling technologies, including DuPont™ ISCEON® refrigerants, a complete family of easy-to-use, non-ozone-depleting hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) retrofit refrigerant blends that provide a cost-effective way for supermarkets to decrease their dependence on ODS and meet the new accelerated Montreal Protocol phase-out targets with minimal equipment downtime.
"DuPont, like our other GreenChill partners, has taken the lead in reducing the supermarket industry's dependence on ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases, and they've committed to strategic practices that increase system efficiency," said Robert Meyers, principal deputy assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. "The programs that GreenChill has initiated so far have the potential to save USD 12 million industry-wide, which is why we think the partnership makes good business sense. The next step is to expand GreenChill to other supermarket partners and other stakeholders who want to play a greater role in reducing ozone-depleting substances."