ESS Introduces White Paper to Help Businesses Prepare for Proposed Refrigerant Regulations

April 3rd, 2009 Robert Johnson

There has been lots of discussion about greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations, focused on proposals under consideration in Washington. However, there’s an equally important proposal under consideration in California that could have a significant impact on all industries whose air conditioning or refrigeration systems hold 50 pounds or more of a regulated or GHG refrigerant. California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) was introduced in 2004, and state officials recently completed public hearings to prepare for final implementation.

AB 32 is designed to reduce emissions of refrigerants with high global warming potential (GWP) from stationary refrigeration and air-conditioning systems through leak repair, reporting, improved refrigerant recovery rates and other approaches.

To help businesses prepare for anticipated regulatory changes, ESS has published a new white paper, entitled “Refrigerant Management: An ESS White Paper on Climate Change and the Bottom Line” that analyzes the state of regulations governing coolants for air conditioning and refrigerant units and provides timely advice to businesses that would be impacted if AB 32 were adopted in other jurisdictions.

“It is important for senior management to help the organization understand the big picture – details regarding the organization’s carbon management initiatives – and then they must know their own day-to-day responsibilities to support the initiative,” the white paper states.

The current AB 32 draft requirements for refrigerant management would effectively:
require facility registration or implementation fees, based on system size;
establish leak detection, repair verification testing, monitoring, and mandatory leak repair requirements.

Although California is the only U.S. state that is poised to adopt regulations governing refrigerants, experts I’ve talked to say that other states are likely to follow California’s lead, once AB 32 is implemented. We think this white paper is a must for any affected business owner who wants to prepare for the significant changes ahead.

I’m sure this informative white paper will provide useful information to guide you through the rapidly-changing regulatory environment. ESS was the first company to introduce software to support efficient refrigerant management and it remains the industry standard. Our experts have helped organizations avoid compliance risks while streamlining refrigerant management for over a decade.

Tags: ab 32 california global warming solutions act climate chanage ghg regulations greenhouse gas regulations gwp refrigerant management

Entry Filed under: Operational Risk Management, Sustainability, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, GHG Regulations and Voluntary Reporting