A project in which Emerson, Hussman and Chemours donated sustainable refrigeration technologies to Gem City Market Community Food Co-op, an independent grocer opening in a food desert in Dayton, Ohio, has received recognition as part of the 10th annual Environment+Energy Leader Awards program. The awards, revealed July 19 during the Fort Collins, Colo.-based publication’s annual Solutions Summit, honor recipients for exemplary work in the fields of energy and environmental management. The award category was Top Project of the Year.
Open since May 2021, Gem City Market is a Dayton Foundation cooperative market initiative created to help address food insecurity in downtown Dayton. A large portion of the market’s 8,000-square-foot retail space requires medium- and low-temperature refrigeration, so the system was a focal point for supporting Gem City Market’s environmental responsibility, long-term energy savings, low operating costs and ease of maintenance.
For the project, Emerson, Hussmann and Chemours integrated their individual areas of expertise. Emerson donated its Copeland scroll booster refrigeration architecture, the first technology to be commercially developed from Emerson’s Helix Innovation Center. Copeland scroll booster technology allows Gem City Market to combine a low-pressure, lower global-warming potential (GWP) refrigerant with a distributed architecture, which is an alternative to large, centralized systems. Additionally, Bridgeton, Mo.-based Hussman contributed an assembled refrigeration system and Wilmington, Del.-based Chemours provided lower-GWP A1 refrigerant Opteon XP10 (R-513A).
“Working to address food insecurity reinforces Emerson’s company purpose: We drive innovation that makes the world healthier, safer, smarter and more sustainable,” said Rajan Rajendran, global VP environmental sustainability of St. Louis-based Emerson’s Commercial and Residential Solutions business. “We are proud to be recognized with others in our industry for this project, which highlights an inventive architecture that is making advanced refrigeration solutions accessible for operators of small-format retail stores who want to make the transition to more sustainable refrigeration options.”
Last year, Gem City Market, which was featured in Progressive Grocer’s July 2021 print issue and online for its innovative retail concept, also received a $100,000 donation of foodservice equipment, training and support from Eaton, Ohio-based Henny Penny Corp.