The finalists are:

• True Circular Economy for the Cooling Industry by Sustain Recycling: Sustain’s approach provides a game-changing solution to the management of ageing commercial refrigeration assets to ensure Zero to Landfill by focusing on the reuse of parts from waste, repairing for reuse, repurposing the foam to avoid incineration, and ensuring recycling routes offer true circular economy. Their end-to-end process is making a significant impact in reducing carbon emissions and VOCs from foam incineration, from their own processing that uses renewable resources and from their sustainable process for reusable steel re-manufacturing. The approach has helped to save 12,897 tonnes of CO2 emissions over the past 12 months, returned 156,302 kW energy to the National Grid from the Waste Plant and diverted an estimated 4,704 tonnes of industry waste from landfill by dismantling and recycling over 17,000 refrigeration cabinets.

• Reaching Net Zero with Cooling Data by Tesco, Star Refrigeration and Star Data Analytics: Tesco has achieved energy reductions and maximised efficiency across their distribution centre estate through the installation of Star Data Analytics 'Ethos' solution. It uses real-time data collection and AI technology to identify and implement improvements through intelligent use of data, predictive analytics, strategic asset management and the use of the latest technology.  It has helped Tesco achieve a 10% energy saving and reduction of 835 tonnes of CO2 emissions over the past 21 months with a return on investment of just under three months. The project sets a precedent for how data and technology can be leveraged for sustainable operation.

The award will be presented during the IOR Annual Dinner held in London on 22 February 2024. Apart from receiving this prestigious environmental accolade, the winner will be invited to present their results to IOR members in a technical paper. The IOR has announced the finalists for its inaugural Beyond Refrigeration Environmental Award.