The Move to -15°C Coalition marked World Refrigeration Day by announcing an expansion of its international membership and progress on its first real-world trials of higher frozen food storage and transport temperatures, as the industry moves to cut emissions and energy use.
Supply chains are under growing pressure to reduce their climate impact and improve energy efficiency, and Coalition members are increasingly focused on identifying practical measures that can deliver measurable results.
Three companies—Wayne-Sanderson Farms, Fayman & Sorbello Food Group and ChileCarne—have joined the Coalition, deepening its presence across North and South America. They join some of the largest companies in the manufacture, transport, storage and retail of frozen food, including Aviko, Maersk, Lineage, DP World and IKEA. The new members broaden the Coalition’s representation across production, export and frozen food supply chain operations while extending its reach in the Americas.
The Coalition was established in 2023 at COP28 to bring together organizations across the frozen food supply chain to examine whether changing the global standard of -18°C (0°F), largely unchanged for a century, could reduce energy use and emissions while preserving food safety and product quality. Earlier research has suggested that a three-degree shift to -15°C (5°F) could cut energy consumption by 5 to 7% and avoid as much as 17.7 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually.
The Coalition’s work builds on a growing body of lab-based research examining whether frozen food supply chains can safely operate at slightly higher temperatures. Advances in monitoring technology, refrigeration systems and temperature management have spurred renewed interest in revisiting standards that have remained largely unchanged for decades.
Sandra Roling, Managing Director of the Move to -15°C Coalition, said: “We are building on a growing body of evidence around temperature optimisation and moving into the next phase: testing how those insights work in real-world operations. The addition of new members from across the Americas and the progress of our first operational pilots show growing industry commitment to understanding how temperature optimisation could support both sustainability goals and supply chain efficiency. Working with leading companies from across the frozen food supply chain, we are generating robust evidence that can inform future industry and regulatory discussions.”
Coalition members met in London this week to mark World Refrigeration Day, review progress, discuss further development of its pilot programme and agree on priorities for the year ahead.
Dan Sorbello, Managing Director at Fayman USA Inc, said: “As a company with 40 years of experience in the international cold chain, we are proud to join the Move to -15°C Coalition at a time when the frozen food world is looking for practical ways to empirically and analytically assess temperature management and the optimization of the associated resources therein. This is an important global initiative that brings together companies from across the frozen food supply chain to test ideas and we are excited to contribute to that work.”
Miguel Adasme Gutiérrez, Head of Industrial Area at ChileCarne, said: “We are pleased to join the Move to -15°C Coalition and to bring Chile’s perspective as a leading exporter of poultry and pork meat and by-products to this important global discussion. As supply chains face increasing pressure to improve efficiency and support sustainability goals, without compromising food safety and while meeting regulatory and commercial requirements, it is essential that exporters play an active role in building the scientific evidence and industry engagement needed to advance this initiative.”
Find out more at: https://www.movetominus15.com/