In 2009 the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) produced a report on the climate impacts of supermarket refrigeration. EIA's research focuses on the potent greenhouse gases, hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) used in supermarket fridges and freezers.
These gases can have as much as 4000 times more impact on global warming than carbon dioxide and can account for up to 30% of a supermarkets's carbon footprint.
The report surveys what actions the major supermarkets are taking to switch to non-HFC refrigerant gases and finds that very little is happening. Marks & Spencer comes out top, but only 3 out of its 620 stores had converted to non HFC refrigerants.
NB: for a sense of the projects underway that are seeking to improve refrigeration efficiency, have a look at the SIRAC (Sustainable Innovation in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning) website
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