Australia’s HVACR industry will today celebrate the coolest superheroes on the planet – that’s right its June 26, 2020 – World Refrigeration Day (WRD).
This is an international event that aims to raise awareness about the role of refrigeration and air conditioning in supporting modern life and society.
Australian Refrigeration Council CEO, Glenn Evans, said the industry’s impact is so profound it is hard to imagine a world without refrigeration and air conditioning.
“Just think, a blood transfusion or surgery cannot be performed without the work of a licensed refrigeration and air conditioning technician, not to mention the importance of technicians to industries like food transport and scientific research,” Evans said.
“This influence has become even more apparent as we have adjusted our lives to manage the COVID-19 pandemic and seen the importance of ensuring our medical services and food supply chains continue to operate.
“The role of our industry is vital, particularly during a pandemic,” he said.
“When you consider that surgical operations can’t happen without refrigeration facilities, or that there’d be no transport of meat or other perishables, you start to realise we’d be in a whole lot of trouble without the men and women of the refrigeration and air conditioning sector.”
“On behalf of everyone at the Australian Refrigeration Council, we say thank you to all the refrigeration and air conditioning technicians out there – you really make a difference.”
The theme for this year’s event which is only in its second year is Cold Chain 4 Life.
It aims to make the public, policy makers, and end-users aware of technology, food waste/loss, human health and comfort, environment, and energy considerations associated with the cold chain.
The goal is to motivate adoption of best practices to minimize food waste/loss in the supply chain, stimulate wise technology selections, and enhance operations to minimize leakage of refrigerants and maximize energy efficiency.
The Australian Food Cold Chain Council (AFCCC) is currently developing a Code of Practice and working with industry to try to improve cold chain processes. A recent government sponsored study revealed that cold chain failures cost the Australian economy nearly $4 billion a year.
As part of its celebration, Emerson will be hosting a number of competitions and events with plenty of give-aways.
Emerson’s vice president for sustainability, Dr Rajan Rajendran, said the industry still has many challenges to overcome.
“We are actively engaged with leaders in the refrigeration and air conditioning industries to address the many challenges the industry is facing — including evolving environment-related regulations, climate change awareness, human health and comfort, the growing ubiquity of digital technologies, food safety and quality needs, and the never-ending energy efficiency and operating cost concerns,” Rajendran said.
Actrol, Metalflex and Reece HVAC will be celebrating today all around Australia and that includes announcing the winners of the #keepingitcool competition later today. Check out @actrol, @metalflexaustralia or @reecehvac on Instagram or facebook to see the results!