êffecterra Joins NASRC at the Platinum Level, Accelerating Innovative Solutions to Advance Natural Refrigerants in Supermarkets

 Reno, Nevada — êffecterra, a global consulting firm providing technical solutions to sustainability challenges, has joined the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) as a Platinum Member.

The firm, which also has an office in London, helps companies establish and achieve their corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. They work with organizations to reduce their carbon footprint by addressing existing infrastructure assets, designing, developing, and deploying optimized solutions and advising on the maintenance of those systems. The firm has assisted companies across localities and industries to identify opportunities to reduce their environmental impact in many areas, including electrification of heat and a specialization in refrigerant management and refrigeration and HVAC technologies. Members of the êffecterra team have been on the forefront of transitioning to natural refrigerants both in the US and the EU. 

 NASRC is an action-oriented 501c3 nonprofit working to advance the use of natural refrigerants in supermarkets. The organization collaborates across every sector of the supermarket refrigeration industry to address the barriers preventing the widespread adoption of natural refrigerants.

Carbon dioxide (CO2), ammonia and propane have zero or near-zero global warming potential (GWP), making them climate-friendly and future-proof natural alternatives to hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants (HFCs). However, unique market challenges — such as upfront cost premiums, service readiness, and technology availability — have prevented the wide scale adoption of natural refrigerants in US supermarkets.

 “The necessity for a carbon negative future simply isn’t possible without addressing refrigerants,” shares êffecterra’s co-founder and chief operating officer, Tristam Coffin. “Natural refrigerants aren’t the sole solution, but they are a critical and unfortunately underutilized mechanism that should and can be leveraged whenever and wherever possible. Refrigeration, be it supermarket or otherwise, is a prime opportunity for naturals like CO2.”

 NASRC’s mission has become increasingly important amidst global efforts to transition away from HFCs, which are super-polluting greenhouse gasses that trap heat in the atmosphere at thousands of times the rate of CO2. Policymakers around the world have begun to view the shift away from HFCs in supermarkets as low-hanging fruit to achieve targets for reducing GHG emissions.

In the US, the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act has directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to phase down production and consumption of HFCs in the United States by 85% by 2036. This mirrors the global efforts reflected in the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The AIM Act will also facilitate the transition to next-generation refrigeration technologies and establish requirements for the management and reclamation of refrigerants.

 In addition, some states have enacted restrictions on HFCs that go beyond the federal requirements. California has introduced stringent regulations that will require the use of refrigerants with a GWP of less than 150 in new stores, as well as the reduction of GWP use in existing stores by 2030. Washington and New York are also establishing more stringent regulations that go beyond federal rules.

 Addressing the barriers to natural refrigerants in supermarkets is a critical step to ease the burden of new regulatory pressures and accelerate the transition to natural refrigerants, and NASRC is leading the charge in partnership with the industry. “Our mission is a collective approach to joining talent and technology to provide action, not just advice, to accelerate climate solutions globally, at scale and pace,” shares êffecterra’s co-founder, President and former NASRC board member Michael May. “Like the NASRC, we believe sustainable refrigeration solutions, specifically natural refrigerant technologies, must be accelerated to combat climate change.” 

êffecterra is a valued industry partner and brings a deep expertise of the commercial refrigeration industry and sustainable refrigeration solutions. Last fall, the company’s co-founder and chief operating officer, longtime Whole Foods Market veteran and NASRC founding Board Member Tristam Coffin, gave a presentation about strategies to achieve zero emissions in supermarket refrigeration at NASRC’s Sustainable Refrigeration Summit.

“We are thrilled to welcome êffecterra to our network,” said NASRC executive director, Danielle Wright. “The team brings valuable experiences and expertise from across the supermarket refrigeration industry, and we know they will be a strong partner to help build a sustainable future for supermarket refrigeration.”

 NASRC’s membership network represents stakeholders from virtually every sector of the supermarket refrigeration industry. This includes more than 38,000 US food retail locations, along with service contractors, manufacturers and suppliers, consultants, engineering firms, trade associations, distributors, and nonprofits.

 More information about êffecterra is available at https://effecterra.com/

CAREL USA Joins NASRC Membership at Platinum Level

Manheim, Pennsylvania — CAREL USA, a subsidiary of CAREL Group, recently joined the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) at the platinum level. The NASRC is an action-oriented 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to creating a climate-friendly future for refrigeration through natural refrigerants.

CAREL USA is a manufacturer of controls and humidification systems for HVAC and refrigeration in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. Globally, CAREL Group has demonstrated a commitment to fostering a climate-friendly future for refrigeration through equipment that is compatible with natural refrigerants.

“At the core of CAREL’s culture, and this has been true for over 40 years, is a focus on honoring the opportunity to enable environmental and business sustainability in our industry. Our solutions development, both internally and with partners around the world, is highly focused on helping the industry achieve or beat low GWP and TEWI targets. This means we are committed to dramatically reduced refrigerant charge requirements, leak potentials, and the availability of efficient natural refrigerant solutions that make a difference,” said Alessandro Greggio, Group Chief Sales & Marketing Officer for Refrigeration.

As grocers face increasing regulatory pressures to reduce the carbon footprint of their refrigeration systems, the demand for low global warming potential (GWP) refrigeration technologies has risen. Natural refrigerants have zero or near-zero GWP, and as a result offer a future-proof solution to regulations.

However, these technologies are associated with a number of barriers that have prevented their wide-scale adoption in the US, such as upfront cost premiums, a shortage of workforce training, lack of performance data, and technology gaps in existing stores.

NASRC works directly with over 130 companies from every sector of the supermarket industry to eliminate those barriers and bring natural refrigerants on par with other refrigerant options. Together with the industry, they drive forward solutions that offset upfront costs, establish new training resources, provide performance data for the industry, and address technology gaps.

"CAREL understands the necessity and the difficulty for retailers and their partners to transition to natural refrigerants in a cost-effective way,” said Martino Manfrin, CEO CAREL USA. “NASRC was founded to help the industry do that - to keep up with regulations, to bring important innovations to the forefront, to share challenges, and best practices across the membership - with the goal of moving the industry forward to ultra-low GWP solutions. It's a clear and simple choice for CAREL to be a part of that." 

 “We are pleased to welcome CAREL USA to our network” said Danielle Wright, executive director of NASRC. “CAREL Group has helped to advance natural refrigerant technology solutions internationally, and we look forward to leveraging their global expertise to drive progress here in the US.”

In addition to CAREL USA, NASRC’s member network represents over 24,000 US supermarket locations and stakeholders from all sectors of the commercial refrigeration industry, including service contractors, manufacturers and suppliers, consultants, engineering firms, trade associations, distributors, and nonprofits.

More information about CAREL USA is available at www.carelusa.com.

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.

Climate Pros Inc. Joins the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council as a Platinum Member

Glendale Heights, IL — Climate Pros has joined the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC), a nonprofit taking action to address the hurdles of natural refrigerants in supermarket applications. Climate Pros is a service contractor specializing in commercial refrigeration, among many other things, who has actively prepared their technicians to work with natural refrigerants. Their training center in Chicago, Climate Pros University, is being remodeled to include a CO2 rack System trainer along with a Howe CO2 Ice Flaker and some CO2 coils for supermarket refrigeration.

“Climate Pros is committed to pursuing environmentally friendly solutions with natural refrigerants to help reduce our customers carbon footprint and do our part to protect the climate for our future,” says Todd Ernest, Founder and CEO of Climate Pros. “We are excited to be joining the NASRC and look forward to working together to promote a more sustainable future.”

Natural refrigerants, including carbon dioxide, ammonia, and hydrocarbons, are considered “climate-friendly” alternatives to traditional fluorocarbon refrigerants, which have been identified as the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Natural refrigerant technology also offers improved energy efficiency and often can save end-users money in the long run.

However, there are several unique challenges that are slowing the widespread adoption of natural refrigerants in the commercial sector, including availability of contractors and service technicians who are trained to service natural refrigerant-based systems and equipment. NASRC is spearheading efforts to overcome these barriers and ultimately create a more sustainable future for supermarket refrigeration. Climate Pros is sure to be an outstanding addition to their network of industry stakeholders.

“We are excited to welcome Climate Pros to our community,” says Danielle Wright, Executive Director of NASRC. “To position themselves as experts in this rapidly growing field, they need to have a seat at the table. They have made a choice to invest and will be at the forefront of this industry.”  

NASRC and Climate Pros will work together on trainings, webinars, and other resources to benefit the supermarket community. In addition to service contractors, NASRC membership is composed of systems manufacturers, component manufacturers, consultants, engineering firms, trade associations, nonprofits, refrigerant distributors, and end-users. NASRC end-user membership encompasses nearly 14,000 supermarket locations who will benefit from Climate Pros and other NASRC members who are committed to overcoming the barriers of natural refrigerants.

About Climate Pros Inc.

Climate Pros Inc. is a full service commercial refrigeration, HVAC and construction company. What began as a company of two employees in 2006 has grown to service over 2,500 locations across ten U.S. states and counting.  They provide services in commercial and industrial refrigeration, HVAC, and construction including: specialized installation, preventive maintenance, retrofitting, merchandising equipment, energy management, and lighting systems.

Climate Pros’ motto of “whatever it takes” has been proven time and again through their investment in natural refrigerant training for their technicians to ensure that they are prepared to service any equipment that comes their way.

About NASRC

The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council is committed to advancing natural refrigerants in order to shape a more sustainable future for supermarket refrigeration. The organization focuses on natural refrigerants due to the unique set of market challenges that prevent the widespread adoption of natural refrigerants, such as codes and standards, lack of incentives programs, and availability of trained contractors and service technicians.

NASRC addresses these challenges through their progress groups, which each tackle a specific barrier. By taking action now, NASRC intends to open the door to a more sustainable future for supermarket refrigeration.

More information about Climate Pros is available at https://www.climateprosinc.com/.