Major supermarkets joined with EPA (U.S.A. Environmental Protection Agency) to show that protecting the stratospheric ozone layer is cool - literally. EPA and the supermarket, refrigeration equipment and chemical refrigerant industries launched the new GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership – a voluntary program to promote green technologies, strategies, and practices that protect the stratospheric ozone layer, reduce greenhouse gases, and save money.

The ten GreenChill founding partners are: Whole Foods Market, Food Lion, Giant Eagle, Hannaford Bros., Harris Teeter, Hill PHOENIX, Honeywell International, Kysor/Warren, Publix Super Markets, and DuPont. These partners, as well as those in the future, must pledge to go above and beyond regulatory requirements by establishing an inventory of current refrigerant emissions that may affect climate change and the stratospheric ozone layer, and then setting reduction targets for these emissions. Partners will also participate in an industry/government research initiative to assess the performance of cutting edge "green" technologies in terms of energy efficiency, reduction of ozone-depleting refrigerant charges, and minimization of refrigerant leaks.

"The GreenChill logo is a clear sign of a supermarket's environmental commitment. It shows that GreenChill members are doing their utmost to save the ozone layer," said Robert J. Meyers, principal deputy assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. EPA estimates that widespread adoption of advanced refrigeration technologies, best practices, and improved equipment design and service could reduce refrigerant emissions by one million metric tons of carbon equivalent per year, the equivalent of taking 800,000 automobiles off the road every year. According to the organization’s press release, it should lead to increased energy efficiency and reduce operating expenses to the industry by over $12 million annually.