Refrigerants Procurement Climate Collaborative

photo of an air conditioning system at a commercial building

About us

The PCC Refrigerants Working Group is a collaborative multi-stakeholder team combining decades of refrigerants and sustainable procurement expertise towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions byway of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-based refrigerant replacement and reduction.

HFCs are the most deployed refrigerants and fastest growing greenhouse gas (GHG) globally. Introducing alternative refrigerants is a crucial but often overlooked way to reduce their impact, offering significant benefits for organizations that act swiftly. These refrigerants, used in air-conditioning, heat pump (RACHP) technologies and refrigeration equipment can also be thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide when leaked, and all refrigerant-containing equipment leaks over its lifetime.

Working together in a flexible, cooperative structure, the PCC Refrigerants Working Group will develop, test, and refine purchasing specifications, pledge programs, guidance documents, and other resources to address these issues for both new purchases and ongoing maintenance of existing equipment. Outputs are expected to empower organizations and the larger purchasing community to implement refrigerant emissions reductions that can be credibly measured and meaningfully communicated in support of an ambitious working group goal to reduce global carbon emissions associated with refrigerants by 99% by 2040.

Impact

Taking a proactive approach to reducing emissions of HFC refrigerants can yield big benefits, including:

Cutting costs

New EPA regulations designed to lower GHG emissions from refrigerants will significantly decrease HFC supply beginning in 2024, driving up the cost of equipment that uses refrigerants containing HFCs and making it more expensive to service leaky equipment.

Achieving emissions reductions targets

Equipment purchasing decisions made today will impact refrigerant-related emissions for the lifetime of the equipment, often beyond 2030 -2040 net zero targets. As other GHG sources are reduced and eliminated, remaining refrigerant emissions will become a larger share of total emissions and as such, should be considered in an organization's climate strategy.

Exceeding regulatory requirements

Purchasing RACHP equipment that uses natural refrigerants not only mitigates the concern for reducing and tracking emissions, but also ensures compliance with the EPA “technology transition” rules going into effect in January 2025.

Take action now:

SPLC has put together a growing suite of resources that can assist your organization in adopting an effective refrigerant emissions reduction policy and setting emissions reduction targets. These include:

Public Resources:

Reducing Refrigerant Emissions is a Real Win-Win

For SPLC Members Only:

SPLC Webinar - Climate Friendly Refrigerants: The Role of Procurement

SPLC Webinar - Refrigerants: The Overlooked Behemoth of Climate Solutions

Our Team

Refrigerant Emissions Elimination Forum (REEF)*
Êffecterra
University of Wisconsin System Administration
Tradewater
A-Gas
Yale Carbon Containment Lab
Arizona State University
UCSD
NRDC
EIA
True Mfg
Glencoe Strategies
NY DEC

NREL
Yale Carbon Containment Lab
USDA
Hennepin County
Toromont
IIAR
City of Portland
DOE
IGSD
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Hudson Technologies

*Co-lead

Our Sponsors

If you are interested in participating in the Refrigerants Procurement Climate Collaborative (PCC) Working Group and/or sponsoring its mission, please email info@sustainablepurchasing.org.