UNEP and the International Institute of Refrigeration have released the
Cold Chain Technology Brief 2025 on commercial, professional, and domestic refrigeration, highlighting temperature control, energy consumption, and refrigerant emissions as key challenges in the final stages of the cold chain. The brief says these systems are essential for preserving food, medicines, and vaccines, but remain vulnerable to inconsistent temperatures and poor maintenance.
The document notes that commercial, professional, and domestic refrigeration are used where retailers or food service operators store food and where consumers purchase products. Commercial refrigeration includes supermarkets, convenience stores, bars, restaurants, vending machines, water coolers, drinking fountains, and small displays. Professional refrigeration includes restaurants, cafés, fast-food outlets, and some supermarkets. Domestic refrigerators are described as almost universally integral systems with electrical consumption of 20 W to 150 W.
Temperature control remains a major issue. The brief says many countries recommend refrigeration below 5 °C (41 °F) and freezing below -18 °C (-0.4 °F), while actual operating conditions can differ because of setup, calibration, door openings, overloading, and probe placement. It also notes that retail display is the weakest link in the food cold chain apart from home refrigerators.
Energy use is another concern. Refrigeration accounts for 40% to 60% of electricity use in supermarkets, while professional refrigeration in the EU was estimated to consume about 118 TWh/year in 2020. The brief also says commercial refrigeration energy data remains limited in many parts of the world, including Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
The report says refrigeration systems have both indirect emissions from electricity consumption and direct emissions from refrigerant leakage. It identifies low-GWP refrigerants, improved efficiency, better insulation, smart controls, and stronger maintenance practices as measures to reduce emissions, while noting that solid-state refrigeration technologies still need further development before they can compete in mainstream markets.
The brief recommends harmonised guidelines, training programmes, and regulatory frameworks for safe and efficient refrigeration. It also says countries may consider national refrigeration committees to coordinate policies, integrate refrigeration into climate and energy strategies, and align efforts with the Paris Agreement and the Kigali Amendment.
