Buffalo and Islandia Stores Serve as Training Locations for Green Workforce Development Opportunities  

Photos of Commercial Coolers from Projects Here 

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced the completion of two projects that successfully demonstrate the use of sustainable refrigerants in grocery stores as a replacement for climate-altering greenhouse gas refrigerants. The projects at an ALDI in Buffalo, Erie County, and a Walgreens in Islandia, Suffolk County, are models for future commercial sustainable refrigeration transitions in supermarkets and drugstores in disadvantaged communities.  

DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said, “New York State continues to advance efforts to help reduce climate-altering greenhouse gases and strengthen community resilience. These retailers in Buffalo and Islandia will help bring New York closer to realizing the Climate Act’s ambitious emission reduction requirements. I applaud ALDI and Walgreens’ proactive approach to advance sustainable refrigeration in communities that are most vulnerable to environmental pollution. These projects are models for other food retailers statewide to work with DEC to reduce the pollution contributing to climate change.” 

Buildings contribute 32 percent of statewide greenhouse gas emissions in New York—the most of all sectors. The Climate Action Council Scoping Plan recommends phasing out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are extremely potent greenhouse gases, to advance emission reductions in this sector. The demonstration projects undertaken by Walgreens and ALDI will help guide a statewide transition away from HFCs while informing policy development and programming, and help New York reach its emission reduction requirements. By modeling a successful project and exemplifying its benefits, the State hopes to encourage businesses across New York to transition to natural refrigeration systems. In addition, by using these locations as training sites, the North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) will be able to facilitate workforce development and help support the widespread adoption of climate-friendly technologies.   

The projects are supported by the State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and were completed through a partnership with NASRC and the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I). The EPF is a critical resource for climate mitigation and other programs such as land acquisition, farmland protection, environmental justice, invasive species prevention and eradication, recreation access, and water quality improvement. In the 2024-25 Executive Budget, Governor Hochul kept funding for the EPF at $400 million, the highest-ever level of funding in the program's history. 

The Buffalo ALDI and Islandia Walgreens upgraded from synthetic HFC refrigerants to systems that use natural alternatives. HFCs are often used in refrigeration and cooling and can have hundreds to thousands of times higher global warming potentials than natural refrigerants, meaning HFCs have a significant impact on climate change. 

NYSP2I will conduct research and monitoring to compare pre- and post-installation efficiency and emissions data for ALDI. Sustainability considerations will also be monitored and analyzed by Walgreens, including the ability to achieve required temperatures, energy efficiency, maintenance, and ultimately total emission comparisons between equipment types. These studies are expected to be completed in 2024. 

The projects will help demonstrate New York’s efforts to address the upfront cost barriers of technology adoption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ensure food security. NASRC will also coordinate free technician training events at both sites to increase opportunities for the local technician workforce to learn about natural refrigerant equipment and systems. 

Consistent with New York’s landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act), New York State adopted regulations in 2020 that limit HFCs in new equipment. These projects support the Climate Act requirements to reduce statewide emissions 85 percent by 2050 and ensure at least 35 percent of benefits, with a goal of 40 percent, are directed to disadvantaged communities. 

In December 2023, DEC released proposed regulations to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from refrigerants, foams, and aerosol propellants. The draft regulation includes prohibitions, reporting, and other requirements regarding the sale, use, and supply of HFCs and new products and systems that contain HFCs to help achieve the required statewide greenhouse gas emission limits. Public comments on the draft regulations are being accepted until March 19, 2024.

Dan Gavin, Vice President of National Real Estate for ALDI, said, “At ALDI, we’re taking tangible steps to support a healthier planet without raising prices so consumers can feel good about shopping our aisles. We are transitioning to environmentally friendly natural alternatives across all of our stores by 2035 that will not only keep products fresh, but also reduce nearly 60 percent of potential carbon emissions each year. As ALDI continues to grow, we are committed to making sustainable shopping affordable and accessible to everyone.” 

Greg Sisk from Walgreens Engineering said, “Walgreens is committed to staying at the front end of sustainable solutions. This project and similar projects completed in other parts of the country are a demonstration of our commitment to our roadmap for implementing lower global warming potential refrigerants and enhancing development of maintenance labor competency through commercialization and adoption of new technology.” 

Danielle Wright, NASRC Executive Director, said, “We applaud the leadership of these retailers for proactively transitioning to climate-friendly technologies. This pilot funded by DEC demonstrates how states can drive significant emissions reduction that is not only cost-effective but supports businesses, ensures food security, and catalyzes workforce training and development.” 

Roger Downs, Conservation Director, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, said, “The advancement of heat pumps and modern cooling technologies are important solutions to the climate crisis - but it makes little sense to continue to operate them using HFCs when there are far safer alternatives that have far less potency as greenhouse gases. The Sierra Club applauds the Hochul administration for advancing new rules to ratchet down the use of harmful HFCs and funding pilot products in disadvantaged communities that showcase affordable alternative refrigerants that will significantly cut climate pollution.”

Dr. Richie Kaur, Non-CO2 Climate Pollution Reduction Advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said, “The completion of these two projects shows that it’s possible for grocery stores to take concrete steps against climate change right now. Hydrofluorocarbons are super-pollutants that have hundreds to thousands of times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide and their unchecked growth could add up to 0.5 degrees Celsius to global temperatures by the end of the century. New York is a leader in enabling the transition away from HFCs in supermarkets and for proposing new standards for climate-friendly heating and cooling equipment across the state. If finalized, the DEC's current proposed regulation will help meet the state's climate goals, provide national leadership, and predictability and clarity for industry."

New York State's Nation-Leading Climate Plan 

New York State's nation-leading climate agenda calls for an orderly and just transition that creates family-sustaining jobs, continues to foster a green economy across all sectors and ensures that at least 35 percent, with a goal of 40 percent, of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities. Guided by some of the nation’s most aggressive climate and clean energy initiatives, New York is advancing a suite of efforts – including the New York Cap-and-Invest program (NYCI) and other complementary policies – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels. New York is also on a path to achieving a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and economywide carbon neutrality by mid-century. A cornerstone of this transition is New York's unprecedented clean energy investments, including more than $40 billion in 64 large-scale renewable and transmission projects across the state, $6.8 billion to reduce building emissions, $3.3 billion to scale up solar, nearly $3 billion for clean transportation initiatives, and over $2 billion in NY Green Bank commitments. These and other investments are supporting more than 170,000 jobs in New York’s clean energy sector as of 2022 and over 3,000 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, New York also adopted zero-emission vehicle regulations, including requiring all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold in the State be zero emission by 2035. Partnerships are continuing to advance New York’s climate action with 400 registered and more than 100 certified Climate Smart Communities, nearly 500 Clean Energy Communities, and the State’s largest community air monitoring initiative in 10 disadvantaged communities across the State to help target air pollution and combat climate change.