INTERNATIONAL NEWS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
World Refrigeration Day —
everything you need to know
The inaugural World Refrigeration Day (WRD) on 26 June will soon be upon us. Here we reflect on the
journey taken to reach this stage, why it is important to us as an industry, and what to expect.
WHY HAVE A WRD?
The aim of WRD is to serve as a means of
raising awareness and understanding of
the significant role that the industry and its
technology play in modern life and society.
Our industry is often described as hidden,
and rarely attracts attention for the right
reasons. Often it is when something fails or,
recently, for its environmental impact.
This lack of awareness by those
outside our industry often leads to
misunderstandings or simply blind
dismissal of it. The lack of appreciation
and understanding leads to more
than just mild frustration by those
working within the sector; it also affects
career advice and representation to
government, among many other issues. It
excludes us from so much.
The question of how we raise our profile
has long troubled industry leaders, with
many good initiatives always underway.
But despite these valiant efforts, progress
has been slow. WRD is potentially different
in that it presents an opportunity for all
stakeholders to work together to achieve
the single aim of raising awareness. It is
something that can and has united the
global RAC community.
The driving force behind establishing
WRD has been refrigeration consultant
Steve Gill, who has been behind several
initiatives to support the industry.
“There now are international or world
days for just about everything, some
of them frivolous and some extremely
serious. If we take the positives from the
successful ones, they do serve to draw
focus to and raise awareness of some
very important issues or causes that might
otherwise struggle for attention,” says Gill.
“When I tell people about WRD for the first
time, they often smile, or sometimes even
laugh, viewing it as something flippant
that is not something that we engineers
want to get involved with, but once the
penny drops, and the potential of having
a focused day like this dawns on them,
they become passionate and want to
get involved.”
The term ‘refrigeration’ is being used in its
widest sense here, meaning artificial cooling
with removed heat being rejected at a
higher temperature. It is not restricted or tied
to one type of technology or application
range, so it includes everything from
cryogenics to heat pumps, embracing the
familiar refrigeration and air conditioning. No
part of the HVAC&R industry is excluded.
WRD has been established with the
buy-in of industry trade associations and
professional membership bodies from
around the globe. Agreeing and fixing a
date proved to be a challenge with many
alternative dates being proposed, but
consensus was finally reached as 26 June.
Very quickly after it was announced,
support was expressed by many around the
world. Within a few weeks, the number of
bodies and trade organisations announcing
support had reached more than 50. As the
date gets closer, that number has more than
doubled and is close to being trebled.
Support comes from all corners of the
world. These organisations range in size from
those with just a few members, to those with
memberships in the hundreds of thousands.
In very simple numbers, support has been
expressed from bodies representing more
than a million members.
“The interest and support is incredible,
and the momentum is still growing and
gathering pace with new associations
and bodies wanting to get involved all the
time,” says Gill. “A million is an astonishing
number by anyone’s measure. What’s
more, we are now getting interest from
associations outside of the HVAC&R industry,
with those representing end-users, such as
the cold-chain, pharmaceutical, and food
and beverage industries, and even sports
associations such as ice skating. Amazing!”
UNITED NATIONS AND
THE WORLD BANK
This momentum and growth in support
has attracted the attention of United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
UNEP recognises that refrigeration plays
an essential role in many of the UN’s
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
and that raising awareness of refrigeration
would help support their aims and
complement their initiatives.
It was an extraordinary moment when
on 18 February in Paris, UNEP’s OzonAction
announced it had joined the growing group
of partners around the world supporting
WRD. This has now been joined by a further
UNEP initiative, the Cooling Coalition. UNEP
will be promoting and supporting WRD in the
147 developing economies in which they
operate. In addition, the World Bank has
said it would be pleased to promote WRD
GLOBAL SUPPORT GROWING
Steve Gill presenting on World Refrigeration Day at UNEP earlier this year.
because it fits in with the organisation’s own
work in this area.
“To have the opportunity to speak to a
UNEP meeting about our industry and what
it does for the world was both an honour
and a privilege,” says Gill. “On a personal
level, it is something that I will never forget
and as someone representing our industry
it is a dream come true. I was able to talk
about the passion and the professionalism
of our industry on a world stage. This
opened an opportunity to connect to the
World Bank and an invitation to present to
them. The importance of raising awareness
of refrigeration is essential for them to
achieve a number of their objectives so
they are very willing to help promote and
support WRD. They all welcome WRD as a
great idea.”
WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON 26 JUNE
This inaugural WRD, although a long time
in the making, has crept up upon many
and taken them by surprise. They have not
had time to plan what to do. There are
some physical events planned, but this
year’s celebration will be mostly a virtual
one through online social media support.
However, developments are happening
quickly so there may be more physical events
announced in the lead-up to the day.
UNEP is planning a series of webinars on
the day to support their initiatives. Some
of the associations that were involved
from the beginning such as the Institute of
Refrigeration (IOR), and the International
Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) are holding
physical events. Details of these will be
given on their websites and through the
WRD website.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
There is a lot you can do. Don’t let this
opportunity pass you by. Be part of the
COLD LINK AFRICA • June 2019
global community. If you belong to a trade
association or body, check and see if
they are planning anything. If they aren’t,
suggest that they do! If you work in the
industry, encourage your employer to mark
the day in some way.
As individuals, we can still all do
something. The theme for this inaugural
year is ‘diversity’. “When we try to explain
our industry, one of the problems we
face is that it is so diverse. It touches lives
in so many ways that it becomes almost
impossible to describe it as an industry, a
science or a technology,” explains Gill.
“So let’s turn this ‘problem’ into a
strength. Let’s show the wider world this
diversity: diversity of applications, of
people, of locations, of technologies, of
careers, of skills, and so forth. The list is
endless. We change people’s lives, we
help them to live and work comfortably, to
eat and drink safely, and to receive care
and medical attention. We need to show
the world this diversity, so they see the
important role we play.”
We invite everyone to take a photo
or a short video that explains, describes
or shows this diversity and post it online.
You can do this using a mobile phone:
it doesn’t need fancy equipment or
editing. Use the hashtag #WRFD19 and/or
#worldrefrigerationday.
WRD will be running a live Twitter feed
on the day so if you wish your photo or
video to be included in that, please send
it through in advance, but whatever you
do, join in. Don’t just sit back and watch this
day pass you by.
Any industry individual or organisation
wishing to be involved can contact Steve
Gill at [email protected].
Find out more on Twitter
(@worldrefday) or the official website
(worldrefrigerationday.org). CLA
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
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