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BUSINESS The circular economy


A-Gas managing director John Ormerod on how a sea change is happening in the way we do business in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry.


T


he typical manufacture, use and dispose lifecycle for equipment and product is one that has dominated our way of business in the past 50 years. It is a particularly wasteful model and one that assumes there will be a never-ending supply of raw materials. But because of increasing environmental pressures on our planet, this is having to change and in doing so it has led to the creation of what’s known as the circular economy. You may not have heard of it but it is a business model which is likely and is already having far- reaching effects on the refrigeration and air conditioning industry. It requires us all to take a different approach to how we run our businesses. We are forced to rethink how we use our equipment and raw materials – how we minimise waste and maximise resources.


It is the opposite to the take, make and dispose business model and will force us to seek greater efficiencies and make better use of what we have already. In the air conditioning industry, regulation has been the driving force behind the development of this new thinking on business – and through this, efficiencies have blossomed.


The use of inverter technology in air conditioning equipment was rare 15 years ago but now it is the norm among manufacturers. Inverters have reduced energy consumption and, in doing so, saved end- users large amounts of money. The benefits gained on maintaining an office block or large hotel can be considerable.


There has been a major focus on leak reduction in the air conditioning and refrigeration industry in recent years. The recycling and reclamation of refrigerants has come to the fore as regulation has driven this change. Refrigerant in equipment that has come to the end of its life – with the exception


of ozone-depleting substances – can now be cleaned and re-used.


In the past three years, A-Gas has invested heavily in equipment and plant at home and abroad to offer contractors the opportunity to have their unwanted refrigerant reclaimed and returned to the market. This is working well and our reliance on virgin refrigerants is beginning to decline. This means that the amount of virgin refrigerants manufactured no longer has to be at the same historic high levels. This has been driven by legislation and is a business model that fits in well with the circular economy. The focus on making equipment more energy efficient will continue. Useful metals and other valuable materials are already being recycled in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment; gone are the days when it went straight to waste disposal. The oil can also be recovered and cleaned to find its way back into the supply chain.


The refrigeration and air conditioning industry is well placed to reap the benefits of the circular economy. Through the recovery and reclamation of refrigerants we are putting in place the building blocks to adopt a more holistic approach to the way that we carry out our business. New refrigerants are emerging all the time and I have no doubt that we will develop more efficient ways to increase their longevity.


Installers have a role to play and the first thing they should do is to understand how interconnected they are within this new business model. There are solutions for recycling pretty much all the equipment and raw materials they work with in their daily lives. For them, there is also a strong environmental argument for making reclaimed refrigerant their first choice over virgin product.


Next year’s high GWP service ban provides an ideal


opportunity to extend the life of equipment


by choosing reclaimed refrigerant. The availability of reclaim means that engineers have the option of keeping equipment running longer and easing the pressure on raw materials. Waste is also reduced. Once again, this is an example of how the circular economy can change the way we operate and protect the planet.


Energy pinch points and further hits on our natural resources are the likely outcomes if we do not adopt this new business model to its full extent. Our consumption of energy grows enormously and we simply will not be able to keep up with demand if we do not re-use what we have. Bear in mind that most of our energy is still derived from fossil fuels which is a finite resource.


The reclamation and recycling business is an intended and necessary part of the F-Gas Regulations and without it the industry does not have room to develop new products in time. The phase-down schedule cannot be met without a significant negative impact and the amount of recycled material processed is key in an industry operating under a declining quota mechanism. That is why A-Gas has invested heavily in its new facility with a new separator at Eygelshoven in Holland, which can handle reclaimed refrigerants on the Continent.


Our industry is equipped to make this change and you will be surprised to what extent the circular economy already exists within it. Its progress will be a natural extension of the co-operation that the industry has shown already through the implementation of the F-Gas Regulations. Through this legislation, technology has forced the pace of change and has made us use less energy, reduce leaks and cut wastage. Putting more legislative pressure on the industry has not necessarily led to higher costs – in fact, the opposite. Another key factor in all this is the customer. They want a supplier to be more environmentally- friendly, more efficient and less wasteful. This now has a considerable influence on the products they choose and who they rely on to carry out installation and maintenance work. With this in mind as the concluding factor, I believe that the circular economy is here to stay.


www.acr-news.com June 2019 7


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