Monday 10 August 2020

Southern Co-op adopts F1-inspired cooling tech to curb emissions

A cooling technology originally designed by motor racing engineers has been installed in fridges across stores in Hampshire, Isle of Wight, West Sussex and Dorset to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

The regional, independent co-operative Southern Co-op has adopted the new technology across some of its stores to minimise its carbon footprint.

The installation, which is expected to reduce the energy consumption of refrigeration by up to 25%, uses airflow to reduce cold air being lost into the aisles – the same technique used to direct airflow efficiently around racing cars.

Gemma Lacey, Director of Sustainability and Communications, said: "Whilst this is all good progress, given the urgent need to accelerate action on climate change, there is a need to go further, faster. Our Climate Action Group is currently developing a pathway to net zero carbon with plans to define specific targets and actions in the coming months."

Emma McVie, Southern Co-op’s Project Manager, said: “Our stores are currently split between those that have fridges suitable for doors and those that could benefit from rolling out blade technology to reduce our carbon.

"If this trial is a success, we could roll out the technology to all 100 of these stores and make a substantial reduction in our carbon emissions."