Industrial refrigeration, a key element for a green recovery

The linear economy model in which we take resources from nature, manufacture products and transform them into waste is coming to an end, to be replaced by the circular economy. This new paradigm, which is being driven by digitalization and new technologies, aims to close production cycles by optimizing resources to move towards more sustainable models.

The circular economy is a system of utilization of resources that seeks to:

• Keep production to an absolute minimum and focus on the reuse of elements that cannot be returned to the environment due to their characteristics or properties.
• Use biodegradable materials in the manufacture of consumer goods or, when this is not possible, use eco-friendly materials to reincorporate them back into the production cycle.

In this sense, the refrigeration industry has much to contribute. On the one hand, as stated by AEFYT, it is a sector that is a major consumer of energy and in recent years has made great progress in energy efficiency; and on the other hand, the great efforts of renewal that have been made with the elimination of refrigerant gases with high Global Warming Potential (GWP), thus reducing the emission of greenhouse gases.

The recovery of the post-COVID economy will largely depend on modernizing the energy system, digitizing the sector and developing a circular economy that encourages more sustainable production systems.

Therefore, industrial refrigeration is seen as a key factor to be reckoned with for a green recovery, due to its great capacity to influence the sustainability objectives of industries such as food or medicine, key to the current economic and social development.