74 HFC-free stores across John Lewis Partnership&rsquo;s estate

According to its 2012 sustainability report, John Lewis Partnership managed to reduce direct emissions from refrigeration and cooling by 5.3% in 2011/2012 compared to the year before. To meet the long-term target of eliminating harmful refrigerant leakage from Waitrose and John Lewis stores by 2020/2021, the retailer will continue to roll-out hydrocarbon water-cooled refrigeration systems in new stores, as well as retrofit old stores. So far 74 stores run on HFC-free refrigeration.

John Lewis Partnership’s recently published 2012 sustainability report, however, acknowledges that its target of halving direct emissions by end 2012/2013 against the 2008/2009 baseline may not be met. In 2011/2012 the reduction of emissions from refrigeration and cooling amounted only to 24.5%. Nonetheless, while continuing its focus on containment and introduction of hydrocarbon-based refrigeration system in new stores and the existing estate, the long-term target of eliminating refrigerant leaks by 2020/2021 is believed to be on track.

74 stores running on hydrocarbons

The report highlights that by the end of 2011/2012, 74 stores across the company estate had been using hydrocarbon water-cooled refrigeration system, which is adopted as a standard in all news shops. This system includes cold air retrieval and is integrated into shop heating and cooling systems, representing a significant shift away from traditional refrigeration standards. The new system saves considerably on energy use and radically reduces the impact of refrigerant gas losses.

In 2012, the retailer has also opened a training centre to enable engineers to get a hands-on experience with low global warming refrigerants, including hydrocarbons, CO2 and HFO. In addition, a monthly management workshop involving refrigeration consultants has been introduced. The aim of these meetings is to encourage the development of new technology systems, which will aid future improvements.

Leak prevention and retrofitting

The Partnership’s principal goal is to ensure that refrigerant leakage is kept to the absolute minimum. All its systems are fitted with leak detection equipment, and regular leak detection is carried out by independent audit engineers. A number of specific stores has been identified that will receive capital investment in order to improve refrigerant containment and reduce leakage.

The maintenance and refit programme is focused on refitting older shops first. By the end of 2011, 48 shops had received a replacement lower carbon refrigerant option reducing global warming potential (GWP) emissions from 3,260 to 1,990. Further replacements are planned for 2012.