European food retailers accelerate investment in natural refrigerants technology

Nearly two-thirds of food retailers in Western and Northern Europe have implemented natural refrigerant technology in store.
Nearly two-thirds of food retailers in Western and Northern Europe have implemented natural refrigerant technology in store, according to a new study, produced by market development company Shecco in partnership with Carrier.

The study covering predominantly large food retailers in Germany, France, U.K., Denmark and Norway found that all respondents were familiar with restrictions on F-gas use and had already, or would soon, implement appropriate strategies.

Refrigeration emerges as the number one priority in terms of increasing a store's energy efficiency. The respondents ranked refrigeration above lighting, overall energy management (including waste heat recovery), and fleet management in terms of environmental energy- efficiency importance.

The study also revealed a majority (51.7%) of respondents would be willing to shorten their investment cycles to promote the uptake of more environmentally-sustainable refrigeration technology. Moreover, nearly half of these respondents were willing to shorten investment cycles by more than two years to acquire the natural refrigerant technology.