Cool-Safe presents at ATMOsphere

At ATMOsphere Australia 2025, the HVAC&R industry’s flagship international conference in APAC focussing on the most innovative refrigeration technologies and projects, The Trust for the Destruction of Synthetic Refrigerant’s Trustee Matthew Darby shared how Aotearoa New Zealand is stepping up its activities in the destruction of Synthetic Refrigerants (SRs) through the Cool-Safe product stewardship scheme, while supporting the shift to natural refrigerants. 

The panel, which included key representatives such as Mike Nasser of the AAPT Group and Ron Polido of the Australian Built Environment Ratings System (NABERS), discussed developments in industry policies, standards and training that are impacting the uptake of natural refrigerants across Australia and New Zealand.

 Yet while the sector travels towards increased use of natural refrigerants, there is still a damaging legacy of ozone-depleting and greenhouse gases to mitigate. Darby, who is Managing Director of Cold Energy Technology and Trustee for the Trust for the Destruction of Synthetic Refrigerants, outlined Cool-Safe’s aims as leaders of the refrigerant product stewardship scheme in New Zealand.

 “Our goal is ambitious: to reduce refrigerant emissions by 90% (from 2018 levels) by 2035.”

 With a clear lens on the damage that has been and is still being caused by SRs, Cool-Safe is setting a new standard for environmental stewardship in New Zealand’s HVAC&R industry. The Cool-Safe scheme’s multi-pronged approach includes:

• practical industry support to promote recovery and destruction of SRs, and

• promotion of the importance of conversion from high-GWP to lower-GWP or full system replacements with natural refrigerants, and

• the development of a strong regulatory foundation supported by industry-wide training standards

Darby shared news of New Zealand’s own national refrigerant destruction plant, due for completion in late 2025, which will not only make destruction easier to manage logistically but will positively impact the country’s carbon footprint by providing the country’s first onshore facility.

Cool-Safe’s operational initiatives range from updated training to incentives to destroy SRs via bounty and recovery cylinder collection schemes. Further action will be needed to support the shift to naturals. “Many technicians are still being trained solely on synthetic gases,” Darby noted. “That has to change, especially as flammable and low-GWP alternatives become the norm.”

 While destruction of natural gases is not on the agenda at present, Cool-Safe’s approach has an eye to a balanced future based on minimising damage and encouraging positive progress. The Product Stewardship Scheme supports national and global environmental developments through clear policy alignment, invoking both government and – ultimately – citizen support.

 ‘It was an honour to be invited to speak on this forward-thinking panel,’ said Darby, ‘and to highlight what New Zealand is doing in the region. I look forward to many more of these critical discussions with key stakeholders in the future.’