To celebrate World Refrigeration Day, on June 26, the United Nations Environmental Program OzonAction, Chefs4thePlanet and the Global Food Cold Chain Council are collaborating to explain the essential role of cooling in protecting human health and the planet. The Cooling Keeps Food Fresh campaign will describe why cooling is necessary for food safety and how it supports nutritious diets that support our health, help reduce food loss and waste, and protect the environment.

Prominent chefs from around the world signed the campaign. They will describe how cooling is necessary for their kitchen. The chefs' recipes will be accompanied by advice that educates consumers on the cooling choices they can make in their home to save money, extend the life of products, and understand how food waste and loss contribute to climate change.

The importance of cooling is sometimes taken for granted by governments, end-users and the public. 

Central to the campaign is the support of world-renowned chefs who belong to Chefs4thePlanet. Anne Le More and Sebastien Ripari are the co-founders of the organization.

Faced with the triple emergency of climate change, pandemics and social inequalities, Chefs4thePlanet is an international community of chefs from around the world who are concerned about the impact of food on our planet and our health. "At a time when every day we go beyond our planetary borders and agriculture produces about a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, feeding ten billion people in 2050 requires a systemic transformation of our food system. Chefs as role models and influencers have a key role to play”, said Anne Le More.

During the campaign, chefs representing various regions of the world will deliver video messages, reinforcing their commitment to maintaining a sustainable planet for human life and describing how cooling contributes to daily cooking and the operations of their kitchens. "Alternative proteins and seasonal, local and plant-based ingredients are becoming increasingly important in gastronomy, and cooling will continue to be essential", added Sebastien Ripari.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the contribution of food waste emissions to global warming is nearly equivalent to global road transport emissions. If it were a country, food waste would be the third largest country in the world by emissions. "Industry can facilitate the reduction of food waste and its negative environmental impact by promoting greater access to food preservation technology and encouraging the development and use of affordable, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly equipment", said Juergen Goeller, co-chair of the Global Food Cold Chain Council and director of regulatory affairs at Carrier Refrigeration. "A sustainable food cold chain will be a net positive from an economic, social and environmental point of view".

It is also essential that the training becomes more specific and dedicated especially for those technologies, such as heat pumps, which will have a huge development on the market. Technicians are needed who know how to install and manage a heat pump and know how to do it with every refrigerant they can contain.