Roy Family Award 2011
celebrates power of collaboration in tackling
climate change
The John F. Kennedy
School of Government at Harvard University
announced Refrigerants, Naturally! as the
recipient of the prestigious 2011 Roy Family
Environmental Award. The award will be presented
to the recipients at a Harvard Kennedy School
event on 4 May 2011.
The partnership was
selected from a group of highly qualified
projects from around the world. Reviewers
praised Refrigerants, Naturally!' s impact
on an important and often overlooked problem
– persistent fluorinated gases (so called
F-gases such as CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs) in
the atmosphere – and held it up as a pragmatic
and effective example of corporations and
environmental organizations working together
to reduce severe threats to the global environment.
Refrigerants, Naturally!
brings together four high-profile private
companies – The Coca-Cola Company, McDonald's,
Unilever, and PepsiCo – which are committed
to combat climate change and ozone layer
depletion by eliminating F-gases and substituting
them with natural refrigerants (e.g. ammonia,
carbon dioxide, and hydrocarbons). Greenpeace
and the United Nations Environment Program
(UNEP) have been supporters of this partnership
from the beginning, by providing advice,
information and linkages to their own activities.
F-gases are highly potent
greenhouse gases that are used in most refrigeration
and cooling technologies. Recent scientific
studies indicate their increasing piece
of the global warming pie – up to 9% – 19%
of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Refrigerants, Naturally! aims to skip over
their deployment in developing countries
as the next billion people get their refrigeration
and cooling. This will prove to be a major
wedge in preventing further global warming.
"Refrigerants,
Naturally! demonstrates that meaningful
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are
possible if business and NGOs are creative
and are prepared to work together",
said Henry Lee, director of the Environment
and Natural Resources Program at Harvard
Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science
and International Affairs, in announcing
the 2011 award winner.
Since 2004, Refrigerants,
Naturally! has focused its efforts on overcoming
barriers to the use of natural refrigerants
including worldwide availability, maintenance,
technical challenges and regulation. The
companies have come a long way. They actively
promote a shift in point-of-sale cooling
technology toward safe, reliable, energy-efficient
and cost-effective natural refrigerants
with low or zero global warming potential
and zero ozone depleting potential.
The initiative also
provides a platform and a critical mass
in communicating with the refrigeration
technology supply chain, with other large
companies using similar refrigeration and
air conditioning equipment, governments
and civil society.
Refrigerants, Naturally!
is taking action to combat global warming
and climate change by replacing F-gases
in refrigeration equipment with climate-friendly
natural refrigerants and is successfully
promoting the technology amongst other companies
around the world.
"Refrigerants,
Naturally! has played an important role
in raising the profile of this important
issue and demonstrating what can be achieved
through shared vision and commitment",
said Thomas Lingard, Global External Affairs
Director Unilever and Chair of Refrigerants,
Naturally! .
In 2010, Refrigerants,
Naturally!' has achieved one of its primary
goals. The group's leadership catalyzed
the entire retailing and consumer goods
sector to commit to change its cooling technologies
starting in 2015. The Consumer Goods Forum,
a CEO-led organization of 400 global consumer
goods manufacturers and retailers with US$3
trillion of revenue, pledged to begin phasing
out HFC refrigerants as of 2015 and replace
them with natural refrigerants (See:http://www.ciesnet.com/pfiles/press_release/Press_Release_2010/2010-11-29-ClimateProtection.pdf).
"Refrigerants,
Naturally! strives to eliminate an entire
class of dangerous greenhouses gases from
a large industrial sector. As the group
has now catalyzed a commitment to eliminate
HFCs from the Consumer Goods Forum's 400
companies, we have a real shot at the kind
of fundamental transformation we need. For
this reason, Greenpeace is honored to be
working with these corporations on this
issue", said Amy Larkin, Director Greenpeace
Solutions.
"Public-Private
Partnerships such as Refrigerants, Naturally!
are vital tools for implementing Agenda
21. UNEP is proud to continue helping inspire
and guide this partnership of responsible
private sector companies, which is contributing
in a tangible way to achieving the UN's
Millennium Development Goal of environmental
sustainability", said Rajendra Shende,
head of UNEP`s Ozone Action branch.
About the Roy Family
Award
The Roy Family Award
celebrates an outstanding public-private
partnership project that enhances environmental
quality through the use of novel and creative
approaches. By drawing attention to an exceptional
partnership, the award aims to inspire others
to replicate or expand upon the success.
More info on
http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/project/43/environment_and_natural_resources.html?page_id=16
Scientific background
In 1987, F-gases such
as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and later
also HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) were
controlled under the Montreal Protocol due
to their negative impact on the stratospheric
ozone layer. Unfortunately, many of them
were replaced with another generation of
F-gases known as HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons).
HFCs, which have a direct global warming
impact more than a thousand times worse
than the reference gas carbon dioxide (CO2),
are currently used in much of the world's
commercial refrigeration. Refrigeration
is critical in food and beverage production,
processing, storage, transportation and
point-of-sale (e.g. supermarket cabinets,
beverage coolers, ice cream freezers). Commercial
refrigerants represent 41% of total refrigerant
emissions.
The consequences of
the rapid growth in HFC emissions are sobering.
Because they are persistent in the atmosphere,
HFCs will be responsible for between 9%
and 19% of CO2 equivalent emissions by 2050
even if we do not act to reduce CO2 emissions.
If the reduction of CO2 remains the focus
of climate change initiatives and nothing
is done about HFCs, they will be responsible
for between 28% and 45% of CO2 equivalent
emissions by 2050.
A UNEP report released
at the Cancun climate negotiations last
year highlighted that even if countries
fully implemented the pledges and intentions
associated with the Copenhagen Accord, in
the best case scenario they could cut emissions
to around 49 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent
by 2020. This leaves a gap of around five
gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent that needs
to be bridged over the coming decade - an
amount equal to the emissions of all the
world's cars, buses and trucks in 2005.
Cutting "non-CO2 gases" including
avoiding HFCs and improving energy efficiency
of refrigeration equipment – as is being
done voluntarily by the Refrigerants, Naturally!
Partners - contributes to quickly close
this gap.
