New Commercial Track Addresses Growing Need for Technical Resources

Phoenix, Arizona – For the first time ever, the 2019 IIAR Natural Refrigerants Conference and Expo included a new Commercial and Food Retail track, developed in partnership with the NASRC. This new educational program featured technical papers, panels, and workshop presentations. The track brought new attendees from the supermarket sector, including national and regional chain retailers, service contractors, and equipment manufacturers.  

“IIAR’s emphasis on technical research and unique, data-driven content are well positioned to support the needs of the commercial sector. We received very positive feedback from supermarket stakeholders that see the benefit in this type of educational program.”

-Danielle Wright, Executive Director of the NASRC

The new Commercial and Food Retail track represents an expansion of IIAR’s traditional focus and expertise in industrial refrigeration. While the industrial sector has in-depth experience with ammonia, natural refrigerants still represent less than 1% of supermarket installations. As regulations drive the adoption of more environmentally friendly technologies, the need for education and technical resources is expected to grow.

“In recent years, the refrigeration industry has benefited from new technological advancements that are making the use of natural refrigerants feasible in both commercial and industrial sectors of our industry. IIAR has taken a leadership role in addressing this change through expanding our annual conference to create a broader educational program and more networking opportunities for attendees from the traditional food processing and cold storage industry to the food retail sectors of our markets. This program offers a great opportunity for our IIAR and NASRC members to share new technology, new operational demands across both sectors and improve safety and efficiency throughout the refrigeration industry.”

-Dave Rule, President of IIAR

The International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration (IIAR) is an international trade association who has historically focused on the safe and efficient use of ammonia as a refrigerant, primarily used in industrial applications. In the last decade, IIAR has expanded their mission to include all natural refrigerants in new applications such as food processing, cold storage, and food retail sectors. More recently they have introduced initiatives focused on carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons, which incorporate the commercial refrigeration sector.

The NASRC is a 501c3 nonprofit organization spearheading efforts to eliminate the barriers preventing the widespread adoption of natural refrigerants in supermarkets. Our network of members is composed of leaders from the supermarket industry, including major manufacturers of commercial refrigeration equipment, service contractors, design and engineering firms, utilities, trade associations, and over 22,000 supermarket locations in North America.

In 2020, the IIAR conference will be held in Orlando, Florida, March 15-18. The conference will again feature a commercial track and exposition for heavy equipment.

“We are honored to have partnered with IIAR on the launch of this commercial track, and look forward to supporting its growth in future years”, said Wright.

For more details on the 2019 IIAR Commercial and Food Retail Track, including session descriptions and presenters, click here.

NASRC Launches NEW Naturally Cool Movement to Raise Natural Refrigerant Awareness

The NASRC is excited to announce the launch of a new environmentally-focused movement called Naturally Cool, which is designed to raise awareness about natural refrigerants and the environment.

The NASRC is a 501c3 nonprofit organization focused on taking action to eliminate the barriers preventing the adoption of natural refrigerants in supermarkets. Natural refrigerants, including ammonia, carbon dioxide, and hydrocarbons, are climate-friendly alternatives to commonly-used hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants, which have been identified as the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions globally.

Project Drawdown, which compiled 100 data-driven solutions to reverse global warming, named refrigerant management the number one global climate solution. Despite the global impact and importance of this topic, there has been a remarkable lack of attention and exposure around this topic and natural refrigerants. As a result, support for the industry to transition to climate-friendly natural refrigerants has been limited.

“Over the past three years, we’ve received tremendous support from supermarket industry stakeholders, who have been the driving force behind our accomplishments to date. What we’ve realized is that a lack of awareness of natural refrigerants outside of the industry is slowing our impact. We’re trying to change that with Naturally Cool.”

-Danielle Wright, Executive Director of the NASRC

Though the NASRC has made great strides towards accomplishing our mission, our work has become increasingly urgent as more climate reports have warned that we are already experiencing catastrophic impacts of climate change, which are expected to intensify at a rate faster than any point in modern history if we do not act now. Furthermore, scientists have estimated that unless something changes, emissions from HFCs could contribute to a rise in global temperatures up to 0.5°C.

“We are running out of time to address the impact of refrigerants on the climate. We need to think and act bigger by leveraging broader support and awareness from the public to accelerate our progress and create new opportunities to expand support for the natural refrigerants and the industry.”

-Danielle Wright, Executive Director of the NASRC

Read more about the Naturally Cool Movement and how to get involved here: http://nasrc.org/naturallycool.

What We've Accomplished: NASRC 2018 Annual Report

The NASRC is excited to share our 2018 Annual Report, which highlights some of the incredible progress we made with our members and partners.

2018 was our biggest and most rewarding year yet. We saw enormous growth in membership, which led to even more growth in impact. Together, we made great strides towards achieving our mission of overcoming the barriers preventing the widespread use of natural refrigerants. 

We hope you'll take the opportunity to explore and share our Annual Report, available here. This year, we look forward to building on the momentum we've created together to drive even more impactful results. 

Arneg Joins the NASRC as a Platinum Member

Lexington, North Carolina—Arneg USA, has joined the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) at the platinum level. The NASRC is an action-oriented nonprofit taking action to create a more climate-friendly future for supermarkets through natural refrigerants.

Arneg USA is a manufacturer of refrigerated display cases and cabinets for the retail food industry. The company is part of the international Arneg Group, who has been a leader in the advancement of natural refrigerant technologies, especially those utilizing carbon dioxide.    

We are thrilled to welcome Arneg USA into our community. Globally, Arneg has shown great leadership in advancing natural refrigerants, and we look forward to working with them to advance naturals in North America.

-Danielle Wright - Executive Director, NASRC .

Natural refrigerants, including carbon dioxide (CO2), ammonia (NH3) and hydrocarbons, have extremely low global warming potentials (GWPs), and as a result are considered “climate-friendly.” In some cases, natural refrigerant technologies offer energy efficiency benefits that lower operational costs in the long-run.

Despite their benefits, natural refrigerants are not yet widely adopted by supermarkets due to significant market barriers, including cost, codes and standards, and service readiness. The NARSC works directly with industry stakeholders like Arneg USA to address these barriers head-on. 

Arneg USA is part of the global Arneg group, who is an international leader for the advancement of natural refrigerants. The global organization has hundreds of CO2 systems running and thousands of propane self contained cases placed.

We are pleased to join NASRC and intend to utilize our advanced European natural refrigerant experience in an effort to help accelerate change in the market.

- Howell Feig - Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Arneg USA

In addition to manufacturers like Arneg, NASRC members represent all factions of industry: including service contractors, consultants, engineering firms, trade associations, nonprofits, refrigerant distributors, and over half of the supermarket locations in the United States.

More information about Arneg USA is available at www.arnegusa.com/en-us.

NASRC's New Commercial Track at IIAR Conference & Expo

For the first time, the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) has curated a NEW Commercial & Food Retail Track for the 2019 IIAR Conference & Expo (March 3-6, Phoenix, Arizona). While this event has traditionally focused on the industrial sector, this new track will incorporate the NASRC’s network of industry experts to explore groundbreaking ideas and trends in commercial refrigeration through technical papers and presentations, and panel discussions.

The IIAR Conference & Expo is widely recognized for bringing together a diverse group of industry experts to provide the largest natural refrigerants product exhibition in the United States, highlighting the latest technology innovations and products from leading manufacturers, contractors, and other service providers. With over 1,500 attendees last year, this conference provides opportunities to network and collaborate with some of the greatest minds in the natural refrigeration community.

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Get a sneak peak of a few of the Commercial & Food Retail Track sessions below:

Case Study: The First Commercial Propane/Carbon Dioxide Cascade Refrigeration System in North America

This technical paper and presentation will discuss the first and only propane/CO2 cascade system in a North American supermarket, a pilot project intended to investigate the viability of this previously unused system option. Authors will explore the project roadmap and system design, approval and permitting process, cost comparison, and performance to date of this unique system.  

Supermarket Experiences With Low-Charge Ammonia

This panel discussion will mark the first discussion of end-users who have adopted ammonia/CO2 cascade systems. Panelists will examine their experiences with low-charge ammonia, including system performance, and barriers to adoption. This session will provide insights around questions, such as whether the perceived danger of ammonia is a true barrier, and what other barriers have prevented more supermarkets from considering low-charge ammonia systems.

Ready Or Not: Is Commercial Service Readiness A Barrier To Adoption?

Service readiness, including availability of service technicians, training resources, and certification programs, is often cited as a barrier preventing the adoption of natural refrigerant technologies. But is service readiness truly a barrier? Or is it a symptom of low adoption rates? This panel, composed of end users and service contractors, will explore this question and identify areas to address this barrier, true or perceived.

Click here To See A Full Commercial & Food Retail Track Agenda