New York’s vast networks of food service warehouses, cold storage, fleets, and retailers ensure we all have food on our tables every day. This sector is critical–and yet it is often overlooked, which means its greenhouse gas emissions are too often overlooked. And they are significant. Crucially, this sector has deep environmental justice implications as the major food distribution depots, creating some of the worst air quality in the region, are located in EJ communities.
However, there are dedicated changemakers leading the charge in decarbonizing this industry. And many of them joined us for the concluding summit of our Food Service Accelerator. Rohit Aggarwala, NYC Chief Climate Officer, and Anthony Fiore, Chief Program Officer, NYS, framed up the core issues and the City and State supports for an industry where tight margins, customer disruption, and impending regulations make decarbonization a particularly thorny challenge.
Our path-leading solutions providers – Flipturn, Ndustrial, Air Water Global, GlacierGrid, Bedrock Energy, Blue Frontier, Inc., and Energy Machines™ – and fantastic collaborators – Walmart, Albertsons Companies, Carrier HVAC, Con Edison, and New York City Economic Development Corporation – dove into some of the solutions and success stories from the program. Where razor-thin margins have stood in the way of the industry’s decarbonization, our companies are innovating business models to enable solutions with no upfront costs and developing full service solutions that provide ongoing support to customers, making their no-fail equipment more resilient and minimizing disruptions for this critical sector.
To everyone who attended and everyone contributing to tackling this complex challenge—whether you’re in buildings, transportation, or refrigeration—thank you.
While our food service Accelerator has concluded, this journey is just beginning, and we remain committed to finding innovative solutions for the food service sector. Stay tuned for more updates and progress ahead 👉 https://lnkd.in/gnHYTeTY
And thank you to our supporters NYSERDA, U.S. Economic Development Administration, New Energy Nexus