Market news, 06 February 2024
Industry trade associations and professional bodies from around the world are united in establishing June 26th as World Refrigeration Day which will be celebrated all over the globe as an annual event.
This day is birthday of physicist Sir William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (1824-1907).
World Refrigeration Day serves as a means of raising awareness and understanding to the general public of the significant role that the refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat-pumps industry and technology play in modern life and society with RACHP and HVACR organisations and professionals around the world undertaking a range of activities.
The annual World Refrigeration Day aims to raise awareness among the wider public about the importance of refrigeration technologies in everyday life.
With increasing global stakes at hand, over the past years refrigeration has come to take a leading role at the heart of international affairs.
As the only independent intergovernmental organisation in the field of refrigeration, the IIR joins associations and companies worldwide to support the initiative of an official World Refrigeration Day on June 26 every year.
High Temperature Heat Pumps: New Career Opportunities for Decarbonisation of the Industrial Sector
The Institute of Refrigeration
Everyone is invited to take part in the event to hear from award winning student apprentices, young academics doing ground breaking research and the IOR President, Mike Creamer FInstR sharing IOR’s plans to support training and careers promotion activities in the coming year. We will also share resources and initiatives available to help raise awareness of careers in the RACHP sector such as STEM ambassadors and the IOR Fantastic Fridges website.
Know more
Join us for a series of live debates based around our recent launch "Beyond Refrigeration - the challenge to achieve net zero heating and cooling for the UK". Discussions about the future role of Refrigeration, Air conditioning and Heat pumps . Each of our themed discussions will start with a short scene setting talk, then we will open the microphones for the topic to be discussed more widely.
“These key areas are designed to focus our thinking, our discussions and our activity. We want to engage with our members who have the expertise to make these changes happen, with other technical experts who will support decision making and with policymakers who can put in place legislative frameworks and mechanisms to create lasting and effective change.” IOR President, Kevin Glass FInstR
Session1 - 12.00pm - 12.45pm "Beyond Refrigeration" How can we work together to tackle the challenge of achieving net-zero heating and cooling in the UK,
Session 2 - 13.00pm - 13.45pm "Developing the Best People and Skills" What should a long term industry-led strategy for recruiting, upskilling and investing in the future of heating and cooling look like?
Session 3 - 16.00pm - 16.45pm "Achieving Best System Performance" What are the right tools, systems and incentives to measure, monitor and maintain system efficiency? with discussion host Rob Lamb, IOR Trustee
Join any or all of these session using this webinar link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3902912643513398032
Although the HVAC&R industry has found answers to some of the world’s greatest engineering challenges, and though it underpins almost every aspect of modern human life, there is one critical challenge it has not been able to overcome: lack of recognition.
This lack of recognition in the general community is common around the world, and prompted the creation of World Refrigeration Day, which is held every June 26. The event, which has been running since 2019,is an international awareness campaign to raise the profile of the HVAC&R sector.It focuses attention on the significant role that the industry and its technology play in modern life and society – from food and vaccine storage, to cooling of buildings and data centres, and, yes, control of pandemics.
Tony Gleeson, Chief Executive of the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating, says that the lack of awareness about the importance of HVAC&R is disappointing – but it is not a new issue.
“AIRAH has been around for 100 years, and for that entire time, we have represented a hidden industry,” he says.“It is strange that asector worth $38 billion, that uses more than 24 per cent of Australia’s electricity and that accounts for 11.5 per cent of our carbon dioxide emissions is basically unknown to most Australians.”
The Cold Hard Facts series of reports produced for the federal government also indicates thatthe HVAC&R industry employs almost 300,000 people[1].This is more than double the number of those employed by Australia’s fossil fuel industry –regularly held up as a vitalsource of jobs in this country – according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics[2].
“Unfortunately, the ABS does not provide statistics specifically on the HVAC&R industry, because we are not listed as our ownstandard industrial classification,” says Gleeson. “And that is what we would like to address this World Refrigeration Day.”
AIRAH is urging its members and the wider industry to make a statement by highlighting this vital sector of our economy in the Australian census to be held on August 10. In the field that records industry of employment, AIRAH is asking all of those working in the sector to classify themselves as “HVAC&R”.
“We know that our workforce is diverse and includes engineers, trades, business managers, salespeople, communicators and so much more,” he says.“That’s one of the reasons we have traditionally been split across other job categories. But if we can wave one flag, we will have a better chance of being seen.
“This year, we are saying that recognition really does start at home. When you fill in the ‘industry’ section of your census on August 10, write that you work in HVAC&R and help us get the standing we deserve.”
www.airah.org.au/census
The theme for World Refrigeration Day 2021 is “Cooling Champions: Cool Careers for a Better World.”
The goal of the campaign is to inspire students and young professionals in all countries, both women and men, to meet the challenges faced by their communities by pursuing careers in this vital sector.
For this year’s campaign, OzonAction and the WRD Secretariat are joining with key international partners: ASHRAE, European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE), Federation of Ibero-American Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Associations (FAIAR), International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE), and Union of Associations of African Actors in Refrigeration and air-Conditioning (U-3ARC).
Refrigeration is at the very heart of modern life. Some 12 million people are employed worldwide in the refrigeration sector. The total number of refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat-pump systems in operation worldwide is around 3 billion. Those systems provide the conditions we require for health, comfort, work productivity, manufacturing, as well as essential environments for food, pharmaceuticals, and digital data. Dedicated professionals design, build, maintain, and regulate them and also train and educate a new generation of practitioners. Their work is essential for the success of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer since many of the refrigerants they work with are ozone depleting and/or contribute to climate change.
Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions is sponsoring the World Refrigeration Day for the third time in a row. The event takes place on June 26th and aims to create awareness of the importance of refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat pumps.
Why does refrigeration matter?
The global Covid-19 pandemic has shown us how important a safe environment is for the people as well as for the planet. Refrigeration plays a central role in various ways, for example the correct temperature storage of life-saving vaccines or blood transfusions, or maintaining the cold chain in food retail and food service to ensure food safety and reduce food waste in the end.
With the sponsorship, Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions, as one of the market-leading companies in Europe, wants to share and contribute knowledge and expertise in this area. “We aim to provide safe environments for sensitive goods and operations. Wefocus on future-proof solutions and deliver life-cycle support to redefine our customers' business and their ecological impact” summarizes Frank Winters, CEO of Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions.
Focus on people behind the ‘cool careers’
This year's World Refrigeration Day looks at the careers within this sector and follows the slogan ‘Cooling Champions: Cool Careers for a Better World’. The goal of the campaign is to inspire students and young professionals in all countries, both women and men, to meet the challenges faced by their communities by pursuing careers in this vital sector. Viessmann joins the event, to promote the importance of refrigeration professionals for the wellbeing of society. Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions continues to offer young professionals career opportunities within a company that is strongly driven by its purpose to create living spaces for generations to come. This digital event wants to give insights into the cooling business and the interesting job opportunities this sector is offering.
For sure it has great future potential!
For more information about World Refrigeration Day visit www.worldrefrigerationday.org.
