Author Archives: Christian Hallmark

Washington, DC – APRIL 22, 2020 – On the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, the Global Food Cold Chain Council restates their intent to continually expand their initiatives to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. With an evolving data gathering initiative and a research fund dedicated to similar activities, GFCCC aims to widen their portfolio to secure a healthy environment and secure food supply.

“Earth Day presents a visible opportunity to evaluate our past activity and plot a path forward for the environment. We are pleased to spearhead a data-driven project that will directly address food loss and waste and the greenhouse gas emissions that accompany it,” Co-Chair Rajan Rajendran, with Emerson Climate Technologies, said that, “On this day we are reminded that this is an urgent issue that has attracted global action and attention.”

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that CO2 emissions from food loss and waste exceed 4 billion tons of CO2 equivalent. If food loss and waste emissions were ranked among absolute country emissions, it would the third largest source of CO2 emissions worldwide.

“Through our international reach, we will take tangible steps to greatly reduce this number.” Rajendran added. “Our data-gathering project is organized in conjunction with the UN Environment OzonAction program and is making great progress to aggregate a baseline establishment of the cold chain in developing countries.”

The Global Food Cold Chain Council: GFCCC was launched in 2014 and has been a leader in the dialogue of means to address food loss and waste. It coincides with international efforts underway in the Montreal Protocol, in the Paris Climate Agreement, and as part of the efforts to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address food loss and waste and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions.

Kevin Fay, Executive Director of Global Food Cold Chain Council (GFCCC) Joins Champions 12.3 Program

At the 2015 United Nations General Assembly, countries of the world formally adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. SDG 12 seeks to “ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.” The third target under this goal (Target 12.3) calls for cutting in half per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level, and reducing food losses along production and supply chains (including post-harvest losses) by 2030.

To help convert Target 12.3 into reality, the global multi-stakeholder summit “No More Food to Waste” proposed the idea of developing a group of executives who would champion the cause of achieving SDG Target 12.3 or Champions 12.3. During the United Nations General Assembly’s Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, the government of The Netherlands formally called for its formation.

Champions 12.3 is a coalition of executives from governments, businesses, international organizations, research institutions, farmer groups, and civil society dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress towards achieving SDG Target 12.3 by 2030.

The Global Food Cold Chain Alliance works to identify, develop and promote technology- neutral policies and actions to reduce the food cold chain waste contribution to greenhouse gas emissions; we support solutions that are energy efficient and reliant on low-GWP compounds and equipment; we work to identify and develop standards and practices to increase access to the food cold chain and reduce food waste; and we actively seek to engage and influence international and national bodies, including the FAO, CCAC, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Montreal Protocol.

The Global Food Cold Chain Alliance is actively working to improve our understanding of the importance of the cold chain in reducing food waste and thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are exciting to have Kevin Fay represent us as a Champion.

Paris, France (December 4, 2015) — A study released today by the Global Food Cold Chain Council (GFCCC) highlights the importance of refrigeration technology in reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with food waste. According to a study by Bio Intelligence Service, a member of the Deloitte network1, expansion of the food cold chain in developing countries could reduce net food waste greenhouse gas emissions by 180-550 million tons of CO2 equivalent annually between now and 2050, representing more than a 50% reduction in the carbon footprint of food waste currently due to the lack and/or inefficiencies of cold chains2. GFCCC Executive Director Kevin Fay said, “It is important that we remain focused on all aspects of potential for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, especially those associated with food waste. Technology offers substantial savings today and in the future as new innovations evolve.”

In 2013, the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) concluded that if food waste were a country3, it would be the third highest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, second only to China and United States. The GFCCC was organized under another initiative of the United Nations, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), to address the potential for reducing the contribution of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as a component of HFC climate policy. GFCCC Executive Director Fay emphasizes that there are significant opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from this sector by expanding the cold chain, particularly in developing countries, improving the energy efficiency of the equipment being utilized, and transitioning the equipment from relying on high-global warming potential HFCs, to low- global warming potential (GWP) compounds and technologies, including HFO’s, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and ammonia. The Deloitte study was tasked with identifying net benefits and impacts that took in to account energy consumption and HFC emissions as a result of cold chain expansion.

The GFCCC was organized to address the usage of HFCs, and its member companies remain committed to this effort, but has also examined the benefit of additional savings in the sector. The Council is supporting a proposed amendment to the Montreal Protocol treaty to facilitate the transition away from high-GWP HFC technology. In addition, it is encouraging policymakers to improve capacity building for developing countries to understand the benefits of cold chain expansion in reducing food waste and thereby significantly enhancing the environmental benefits. The food cold chain consumes about 20% of global HFC usage currently, and energy consumption by the technology is an important factor in its overall GHG contribution. “Effective policy approaches that capture the food waste reduction, improve energy efficiency, and transition away from high-GWP HFCs provide an overwhelmingly cost-effective GHG reduction initiative,” said Fay, “that also helps reduce hunger and improve more effective utilization of precious water supplies.”

1 “Deloitte” refers to one or several firms that are members of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”), a UK company limited by guarantee and its network of member firms organized in legally separate and independent entities. To know more about the legal structure of DTTL and its member firms please visit www.deloitte.com/about. In France, Deloitte SAS is the member firm of DTTL and professional services are rendered by its subsidiaries and affiliates. As such, DTTL does not provide professional services to clients, or direct, manage, control or own any interest in any member firm or any member firm’s affiliated entities. Consequently, neither DTTL nor any of its member firms has any liability for each other’s acts or omissions. Each of the member firms is a separate and independent legal entity operating under the names “Deloitte”, “Deloitte & Touche”, “Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu” or other related names.

2 This is an extract of a complete study that was prepared by BIO Intelligence Service for the Global Food Cold Chain Council (“GFCCC”) with support from United Technologies (“UTC”). This study presents an assessment of the potential of the cold chain sector to reduce GHG emissions through food loss and waste reduction. The study was prepared for GFCCC’s and UTC’s use to meet specific requirements and may not be used by any third party independent of the GFCCC and UTC engagement without permission from BIO Intelligence Service.
3 FAO, 2013. Food Wastage Footprint Impacts on natural resources – Technical Report. Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/ar429e/ar429e.pdf

GFCCC Deloitte Study PDF