Launched in 2007, GreenChill is an EPA voluntary partnership program that works cooperatively with the food retail industry to reduce refrigerant emissions and decrease their impact on the ozone layer and climate change.

Food retailers, including supermarkets, grocery stores, co-ops, supercenters, and wholesale clubs, use commercial refrigeration systems throughout their stores to keep products cool. The commercial refrigeration systems typically used in these stores can leak harmful refrigerants into the atmosphere and those refrigerants can deplete the Earth’s ozone layer and contribute to climate change.

The GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership program works to help food retailers:

• Transition to environmentally friendlier refrigerants;
• Lower refrigerant charge sizes;
• Eliminate refrigerant leaks; 
• Implement best environmental practices; and 
• Adopt green refrigeration technologies. 

The GreenChill Partnership has three main programs:

• The Corporate Emissions Reduction Program: Partners with food retailers, refrigeration system manufacturers, and chemical producers.
• The Store Certification Program for Food Retailers: Recognizes individual stores for using environmentally friendlier commercial refrigeration systems based on a number of criteria. A food retail store can achieve Platinum-, Gold-, or Silver- Level Certification.
• The Advanced Refrigeration Promotion Program: Promotes the use of advanced refrigeration technologies, strategies, and practices. 

GreenChill Partners and GreenChill Certified Stores are encouraged to promote their efforts to reduce refrigerant emissions by highlighting their involvement in the GreenChill Program. The resources below provide general information about GreenChill that can be used to inform employees and consumers of their efforts and accomplishments.

• The GreenChill Partnership Flyer
• GreenChill Store Certification Program Fact Sheet

There are other voluntary EPA programs that support the food retail sector in their efforts to be sustainable through food management, low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant use and leak repair, transportation, product safety, energy and water efficiency, green power, and waste reduction.