Natural Refrigerants Factsheet
Natural Refrigerants in Supermarkets:
The Most Impactful & Cost-Effective Climate Solution
Climate-friendly

Natural refrigerants, such as carbon dioxide, ammonia,
and propane, are the most climate-friendly refrigerant
alternative and offer a future-proof solution to highglobal warming potential Hydrofluorocarbon
refrigerants (HFCs) commonly used in supermarkets.

Market-ready technologies
Future-proof

HFCs are super-polluting greenhouse gases (GHGs)
Once considered a suitable replacement for ozone-depleting substances (ODS), HFCs are now the world’s
fastest-growing GHGs and one of the most potent drivers of climate change. Pound for pound, thesesuper-pollutants trap thousands of times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Scientists
estimate that HFCs alone could contribute to up to 0.5°C of global warming by the end of the century.

U.S. supermarkets area leading source ofHFC emissions
Supermarket refrigeration is considered one of themost impactful and cost-effective opportunities toreduce HFC emissions. The average supermarket uses
thousands of pounds of HFC refrigerant and has ahigh leak rate of approximately 25% of the refrigerant
charge every year (about 875 lbs).

Impact of Supermarket Refrigerant Leaks

3,500 lbs.
Refrigerant Charge

25%

Annual Leak Rate

Average GWP

The impact from supermarket refrigeration
leaks alone is estimated to be 55 million
MTCO2e annually or more than half a billion
MTCO2e over 10 years. That’s equivalent
to the emissions from burning 608 billion
pounds of coal, roughly the annual
consumption of 147 coal-fired power plants.

608 Billion
Pounds of CoalClassified as Short-Lived Climate Pollutants(SLCPs), HFCs have a disproportionate impact onwarming in the near term, making their mitigation
significantly more urgent than other GHGs.

Typical Refrigerant

38,000+U.S. Supermarket Systems

Total Annual Emissions from U.S.
Supermarket Refrigerant Leaks

55 Million Metric Tons
of CO2Equivalent Emissions(MTCO2e)Ammonia (R-717)

Ultra-Low GWPNaturalRefrigerants

CO2 (R-744)
Propane (R-290)
R-449A

Medium GWP HFCs/
HFO Blends

R-448A
R-407A
R-404AHigh GWP HFCs

R-507A
01000

2000

3000

4000

GWP

info@nasrc.org

nasrc.org

U.S. federal and state regulations
are phasing-down HFCs

AIM Act

New policies at the state and federal levels are drivinga transition away from HFCs. The federal phase-down is
expected to impact supermarkets through HFC refrigerant
price increases and supply shortages. Learn more about HFC
regulations at nasrc.org/hfc-policy.

Natural refrigerants are the climate-friendly solution
to mitigate supermarket HFC emissions
Natural refrigerants, such as CO2, Ammonia, and Propane, have zeroor near-zero global warming potential (GWP) and are considered
technically viable, safe, and climate-friendly alternatives to HFCs.
Due to their long history of use and negligible environmental
impact, natural refrigerants are considered “future-proof” fromboth a regulatory and environmental standpoint.

Enacted in late 2020, the American Innovation andManufacturing (AIM) Act directs the EPA to address
HFC emissions through three main legislative activities:

11 Phase down the production andconsumption of HFCs by 85% by 2036

the transition to next-generation
2 Facilitate
through sector-based
2 technologies
restrictions
Establish regulatory requirements for the33 management of refrigerants to maximize
reclamation and minimize releases
from equipment

Benefits of Natural Refrigerants
Climate-friendly

Accelerate emissions reduction beyond regulations

0 Zero or near-zero GWPRegulatory complianceMarket-ready technologies
Potential efficiency gains & cost savings

Future-proof
Natural refrigerants can accelerate GHG emissions savings
Supermarket refrigeration technologies using natural refrigerants are available in the U.S. market today but currently haveextremely low adoption rates. Currently, less than 2% of U.S. supermarkets use HFC-free natural refrigerant systems. Though
new regulations are driving the transition away from HFCs at the state and federal levels, current U.S. HFC regulations do not
require or create the market conditions to stimulate the widescale transition to natural refrigerants. Instead, medium GWP
refrigerants with nearly 1,400 GWP are becoming the standard.
Natural refrigerants are critical to delivering accelerated GHG emissions savings above and beyond federal and state regulations.
Because natural refrigerants can’t be patented, there is no natural champion to accelerate their adoption. NASRC was founded
to pave the way for natural refrigerants in U.S. supermarkets. Visit our website to learn more.

The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC)
The NASRC is a 501(c)(3) environmental nonprofit working to advance climate-friendly naturalrefrigerants and reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by traditional hydrofluorocarbon(HFC) refrigerants. We collaborate with stakeholders from across the industry, including over
38,000 food retail locations, to eliminate the barriers to natural refrigerants in supermarkets.
info@nasrc.org

nasrc.org