NASRC's Top 10 Accomplishments In 2021

2021 presented the industry with new challenges, but that didn't stop our members from stepping up to accelerate our mission more than ever before!
Here's a snapshot of our top 10 collective accomplishments from 2021:

Check out our top 10 collective accomplishments in 2021!

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1.Sustainable Refrigeration Summit

Hosted the first-ever Sustainable Refrigeration Summit to bring together over 900 supermarket refrigeration stakeholders, government agencies, and policymakers to address the challenges to achieving zero emissions in supermarket refrigeration.

2. Funding Support for Natural Refrigerants

Developed new sources of funding for natural refrigerants: Authored a federal tax credit proposal that is currently in circulation, secured a buyer for our carbon financing pilot, and advanced progress to solidify refrigerant GWP as a metric for utility incentives.

3. Modular Solutions for Existing Facilities

Accelerated technology solutions to enable the modular transition of existing stores to natural refrigerants. Published a report characterizing retailer demand for natural refrigerant-based condensing units to bring more products to the US market. Accelerated the approval of a higher R290 charge limit to increase available self-contained solutions.

4. Workforce Development

Drafted a CO2 curriculum for trade schools & community colleges with ESCO Group, industry stakeholders, and HVACR schools to help build a future workforce that is well-versed in natural refrigerants. Kicked off a workforce development plan to grow the technician workforce.

5. State Incentive Programs

Secured $880,000 in incentives for 12 natural refrigerant projects in California and coordinated the grant deliverables. Mobilized our members and partners to support additional program funding. Worked with other states to share lessons learned and outline future incentive programs.

6. Retailer Leak Reduction Initiative

Formed a Retailer Best Practices Committee to facilitate a retailer-driven leak reduction initiative. Retailers drafted equipment specifications to proactively reduce refrigerant leaks over the lifespan of a system.

7. Pilot Projects & Research Studies

Initiated new field studies and pilot projects on advanced refrigeration technologies to better understand energy performance and other ongoing costs of natural refrigerant solutions. Contributed to the design of a comprehensive M&V study as part of the CARB FRIP grant program.

8. Strengthened Member Network

Grew our membership network to nearly 150 organizations representing over 38,000 food retail locations. Members provided support to NASRC initiatives and participated in member activities, such as Progress Group meetings and monthly End-User Roundtable meetings.

9. Policymaker Engagement

Strengthened relationships with policymakers at the state and federal levels to inform effective policies that address challenges and support the transition to climate-friendly refrigerants. Evidenced by the 60+ policymaker attendees from the federal government and 16 states at our Sustainable Refrigeration Summit.

10. Education & Awareness

Increased awareness of natural refrigerants as a leading climate solution through media coverage, podcast interviews, and other speaking engagements to expand support for the transition away from HFCs.

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Thank you to our members, who are behind all of these achievements!
We look forward to building on the momentum we've created together in 2022.

NASRC's Top 10 Accomplishments In 2020

2020 has had its challenges, but thanks to tremendous participation and support from our members, NASRC made more progress towards our mission to eliminate the barriers to natural refrigerants than ever before.

Check out our top 10 collective accomplishments in 2020!

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1. Aggregated Incentives Program (AIP) Pilot

Launched Aggregated Incentives Program (AIP) to coordinate multiple sources of funding support for natural refrigerant projects in food retail applications through a streamlined application process.

2. Low-GWP & Energy Efficiency Expo

Convened 200+ supermarket refrigeration, energy management, and regulatory stakeholders for a 2-day event (pre-COVID) to accelerate progress towards a low-GWP and energy efficient future for supermarkets.

3. California HFC Regulations for Stationary Refrigeration

Facilitated the development of the alternate HFC regulatory proposal for stationary refrigeration in California with a retailer group representing the majority of supermarket locations in the state.

4. Carbon Financing Pilot

Developed a Carbon Financing Pilot to create a market for the supply & demand of refrigerant carbon-offset credits and ultimately leverage revenue from the sale of credits to offset the upfront costs of natural refrigerant projects.

5. CO2 Curriculum Development for Schools

Kicked off the development of a CO2 curriculum for trade schools & community colleges with ESCO Group, industry stakeholders, and HVACR schools to help build a future workforce that is well-versed in natural refrigerants.

6. Natural Refrigerant Technology Series & Library

Hosted an eight-week webinar series that included nineteen webinars featuring the latest natural refrigerant technologies. Developed our Natural Refrigerant Technology Library to host recordings on-demand at no cost.

7. Natural Refrigerant Contractor Directory

Created a downloadable Contractor Directory to help food retailers find installation & service contractors trained in natural refrigerants, which can be filtered by refrigerant type and geographic location.

8. Low-GWP Research Studies

Initiated field studies and pilot projects on advanced refrigeration technologies to compile data around energy performance and other ongoing costs of natural and low-GWP refrigerant solutions.

9. New NASRC Resources

Introduced new NASRC resources, including our Member Directory to highlight our members and the services they offer, our Resource Library to equip our network to learned about & advance natural refrigerants, and our Member Resource Library.

10. Education & Awareness

Increased awareness of natural refrigerants as a leading climate solution to expand support for the transition. Leveraged new educational platforms, such as the How To Save A Planet podcast and the TEDxReImagineScience event.

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Thank you to our members who are the driving force behind all of these achievements!
We look forward to building on the momentum we've created together in 2021.

NASRC Releases New Directory to Support Supermarkets in Transition to Climate-Friendly Refrigeration

Mill Valley, California - The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), a 501(c)(3) environmental nonprofit, has launched a new directory to connect industry thought leaders who are supporting supermarkets in the transition to climate-friendly refrigerants. The directory showcases NASRC’s 130+ member companies and the services they offer, allowing users to search by product, service type, service territory, and refrigerant among other categories.

“We were founded to bring stakeholders together to take collective action and overcome the barriers to natural refrigerant adoption,” comments Danielle Wright, NASRC executive director. “This directory reflects that principle by streamlining connections with the organizations and companies that have positioned themselves at the forefront of industry progress.”

As the threat of climate change accelerates, the need for sustainable refrigeration is growing. Transitioning to climate-friendly refrigerants is one of the single most effective ways to permanently reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Natural refrigerants - including ammonia, carbon dioxide, and hydrocarbons - are climate-friendly alternatives to traditional hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants. Unfortunately, they are not yet widely adopted in the U.S. due to a lack of effective and consistent policies to phase down HFCs. Moreover, supermarkets face a unique set of market barriers that prevent adoption of natural refrigerants, such as upfront cost premiums, a shortage of workforce training, and a lack of performance data.

To address the market barriers, NASRC has created a membership network of over 130 industry stakeholders, including 24,000 supermarket locations, that contribute to NASRC solutions driving the data, resources, and support supermarkets need to feasibly adopt climate-friendly natural refrigerants. “Our members are our biggest strength and together have the power to drive solutions forward,” says Wright. “Because of our vast network, we’re uniquely positioned to house a simple platform to facilitate connections between stakeholders and, as a result, accelerate solutions.”