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Raising the temperature could cut global warming, says cold chain consortium
[ November 29, 2023 // Chris Lewis ]Raising the temperature of frozen food in the global supply chain by three degrees could save the carbon dioxide emissions of 3.8 million cars per year, says DP World, which has set up an industry coalition to explore the feasibility of doing this.
Join the Move to -15°C argues that increasing the temperature to this temperature, from the -18°C that most frozen food is transported and stored at, could make a significant environmental impact with no compromise on food safety or quality
The -18°C standard was set 93 years ago and has not changed since, DP World says.
Experts from the Paris-based International Institute of Refrigeration, the University of Birmingham and London South Bank University, among others, found that the small change could save 17.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, and create energy savings of around 25 terawatt-hours (TW/h) – equivalent to 8.63% of the UK’s annual energy consumption
It would also cut supply chain costs by at least 5% and in some areas by up to 12%.
Other industry organisations that have joined the coalition include US-based AJC Group, AP Moller– Maersk Group, Daikin of Japan, the Global Cold Chain Alliance, Kuehne + Nagel International, US-based cold chain transporter Lineage, Mediterranean Shipping Company and Ocean Network Express (ONE).
DP World Group chief sustainability officer Maha AlQattan, said: “Frozen food standards have not been updated in almost a century. They are long overdue for revision.
“A small temperature increase could have huge benefits but – however committed each individual organisation is – the industry can only change what’s possible by working together. With this research and with our newly formed coalition, we aim to support collaboration across the industry to find viable ways to achieve the sector’s shared net zero ambition by 2050.
“The Move to -15°C will bring the industry together to explore new, greener standards to help decarbonise the sector on a global scale. Through this research, we can see how we can deploy accessible storage technologies in all markets to freeze food at sustainable temperatures, while reducing food scarcity for vulnerable and developed communities.”
Hundreds of millions of tonnes of food are transported around the world every year. While freezing food extends shelf life, it comes with a significant environmental cost – as 2-3% more energy is required for every degree below zero that food is stored at.
At the same time, experts estimate that 12% of food produced annually is wasted due to a lack of refrigerated and frozen logistics. The need is particularly acute in areas like Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Subcontinent. In Pakistan in 2022, for example, half of exportable mangoes were lost due to an extreme heatwave.
Professor Toby Peters, University of Birmingham and Heriot-Watt University and director of the Centre for Sustainable Cooling said: “Cold chains are critical infrastructure, vital for a well-functioning society and economy. They underpin our access to safe and nutritious food and health, as well as our ability to spur economic growth.”
He added: “Cold chain infrastructure, and the lack of it, have implications for global climate change and the environment.
“Cutting cold chain emissions and transforming how food is safely stored and moved today helps ensure we can keep sustainably feeding communities across the globe as populations and global temperatures rise, protecting food sources for years to come.
“Building on this research, DP World’s coalition can be a key tool for overcoming today’s food challenges too, providing a stable inventory of quality food for the 820 million starving people worldwide and security for another 2 billion who are struggling with food scarcity.”
DP World has made the research accessible to all and has invited all interested parties to show support for the campaign – Join The Move to -15 (dpworld.com)
Tags: DP World; Maersk; MSC; Kuehne & Nagel, ONE