08 Apr 2020 News

UNEP OzonAction Encourages Everyone to Celebrate World Refrigeration Day 2020

Paris, 7 April 2020 — World Refrigeration Day (WRD) is an international commemorative day that raises awareness about the refrigeration and air-conditioning industry and its contribution to modern life, as well as its connection to key societal objectives including mitigating climate change, protecting the ozone layer, and achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Inaugurated in 2019, the initiative is well recognized and supported by leading industry associations and organizations around the globe, as well as governments and non-governmental organisations.

WRD is organized each year on 26 June, the birth date of Lord Kelvin after whom the Absolute temperature scale (the “Kelvin Scale”) is named. UNEP OzonAction was one of the early supporters of this commemorative day and joined the WRD Secretariat and ASHRAE to celebrate the first edition of this awareness-raising event.

This year, UNEP OzonAction, the WRD Secretariat, ASHRAE, the European Partnership for Energy and Environment (EPEE), and the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) are partnering to promote a global campaign centered around the theme of the Cold Chain.  This topic has generated great interest in recent years given its multi-dimensional contribution to key issues including Food Safety/Food Security, Health, Climate Change/Ozone Protection, Sustainable Production/Consumption, and others.

The Food Cold Chain can best be defined as the series of actions and equipment applied to maintain a product within a specified low temperature range from harvest/production to consumption, including farming/fishing, food processing, cold storage, transportation, food services, and domestic uses.

The 2020 campaign, which is being organized under the slogan “Cold Chain 4 Life”, aims at building knowledge and raising awareness amongst three different groups:

•    General Public: consumers and direct beneficiaries of services/products offered through the cold chain.
•    Policymakers: governments and authorities responsible for drafting and implementing relevant strategies and regulations.
•    Owners/Operators: decision-makers in terms of technology selection and operational procedures of different technologies required for cold chain processes.

“World Refrigeration Day is a great opportunity for all of us to celebrate the tremendous contribution that refrigeration and air conditioning makes to our societies. This includes enabling our agricultural and food systems to harvest, store, transport and sell the foods that nourish us all. The food cold chain is what makes this possible," said James Curlin, Acting Head of UNEP OzonAction, "We encourage everyone to organize your own national or local WRD celebrations on 26 June to shine light on great work of the refrigeration and air conditioning sector, which is so vital for the success of the Montreal Protocol. 

National Ozone Units, national associations and industry groups, companies and professionals working in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector, schools and individuals can all join in the activities.

You are all invited to join the “Cold Chain 4 Life” campaign by organizing relevant events/functions or using the resources which the campaign will offer soon. Please follow-us on the OzonAction web site and through the WRD web site and associated social media tools.

Cold Chain 4 Life is an international campaign organized by the WRD Secretariat, UNEP OzonAction, ASHRAE, IIR and EPEE to help governments, organizations, companies and media promote World Refrigeration Day 2020. The Web banners available through the links below may be used free of charge in websites and other media providing they are not altered; logos and other branding are not added; that they are not used in ways which state or imply endorsement of a brand, product or service by the WRD Secretariat or the campaign's organizers.


-    Cold Chain 4 Life Announcement
-    Cold Chain 4 Life Banner 120 x 600 (3.175 x 15.875cm)
-    Cold Chain 4 Life Banner 250 x 250 (6.615 x 6.615cm)
-    Cold Chain 4 Life Banner 728 x 90 (19.262 x 2.381cm)
-    Cold Chain 4 Life Banner 320 x 50 (8.467 x 1.323cm) Mobile banner
-    Cold Chain 4 Life Banner - Twitter post graphic
-    Cold Chain 4 Life Banner - [750x400] website graphic

For Information, please contact:

Ms. Anne Fenner, OzonAction Information Officer. anne.fenner@un.org
Mr. Ayman Eltalouny, OzonAction Partnerships Coordinator. ayman.eltalouny@un.org

WRD bottom banner