Cold chain logistics is an essential part of advanced product manufacturing and development, including precision pharmaceuticals and food production. However, its energy needs are undeniable, and it can produce more carbon emissions than other supply chain and transportation methods.
It is vital to determine which facets of the process are most resource-intensive to future-proof the industry against compounding environmental damage. Based on current research, these are the most prominent focus areas and ways to reduce their impact.
The Sources of Carbon Emissions in Cold Chain Logistics
The cold chain logistics network is an intricate web of machinery, cooling materials and fuel to transport everything across extensive distances without compromising a single degree.
In 2022, the agrifood cold chain system was responsible for 1.32 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, and additional industries in the cold chain sector make this number even higher. This has doubled over the previous two decades, reinforcing the importance of knowing where energy and resource reductions can be achieved.
Indirect Emissions From Energy Consumption
Refrigeration systems, transportation technologies, heavy machinery and anything else using electricity to get cold chain storage products to their destination produce emissions by being powered. This impact is challenging to quantify, given so many contributors, though a few are easier to clarify than others.
Company Consumption of Refrigeration Technologies
Transport refrigeration units (TRUs), refrigerants and on-site freezers or storage from organizations must run at all times. Refrigerated vehicles are another consideration, as the fleet expanded from three million in 2013 to 15.5 million in 2025. These vehicles already produce 15% more carbon dioxide compared to conventional trucks, and the number could increase nitrogen oxide emissions by 18%.
Because of the extreme temperatures required for some cold chain products, refrigerators could be argued as the largest source of adverse environmental impacts.
Food Processing and Manufacturing
Processing food for cold chain storage must be considered. How they are produced and handled directly correlates with their transportation and temperature needs. The machines, lighting and environmental controls all contribute to the organization’s impact, as well as to food processing efficiency.
Therefore, the industrial workflow must be included in the carbon footprint of cold chain logistics, especially in the age of smart manufacturing, where environmental metrics are easier than ever to collect and track.
Retail and Warehousing
Further down the supply chain, retail outlets and storage facilities emit their own emissions associated with cold-chain products. Refrigeration, which includes reach-in and walk-in units, among other devices, can account for up to 40% of a store’s energy consumption, prompting researchers and engineers to explore lower-carbon options.
Meanwhile, warehouses are in an even worse position. Cold storage accounts for up to 80% of their energy consumption, averaging around 25 kilowatt-hours per square foot per year. They all add to carbon emissions by using hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). While they are effective, they are contentious agents, prompting legislators to act and leading to widespread reductions and bans.
Direct Emissions From Refrigerant Leakage
HFCs, among other refrigerants, are the dangerously deceptive component of cold chain logistics. Some variants, like HFC-23, have a global warming potential 14,800 times higher than carbon dioxide over a century. The frequency of these invisible leaks from aging equipment and poor maintenance takes a toll on the planet.
Many other old staples of the sector, such as Freon 22 and chlorodifluoromethane, have also been discouraged because of their environmental damage, requiring experts to continue hunting for the ideal refrigerant that is equally effective and safe.
Transportation
TRUs are only one aspect of the cold chain transportation puzzle. Trucks, ships and planes are the primary vehicles used to transport cold-storage products. However, while only a small part of the big picture, there are other tools used to move these heavy items.
These include anything in a manufacturing facility, such as an autonomous guided vehicle or a forklift, that moves items from one part of the workflow to the next. These all culminate in emissions from electricity, fuel and maintenance waste.
Food Loss and Other Perishable Waste
Food waste is inevitable in production, and so are sensitive precision pharmaceuticals that require specific conditions to remain effective. Temperature excursions during transportation, inadequate maintenance on in-house freezers and numerous other influences throughout the supply chain can cause expensive drug therapies or pounds of food being sent to landfills.
The energy and resources expended up to the point of this waste generation must be considered, as the emissions were produced without a tangible product. Reducing these mistakes through greater oversight is essential for preserving the planet and an organization’s budget, as money spent on utilities and additional products hurts bottom lines.
Pathways to a Sustainable Cold Chain
From electricity to food waste, the impact of the cold chain sector is felt from multiple angles. Therefore, industry professionals must incorporate several strategies and technologies to catalyze meaningful carbon reductions. These changes within the industry will force stakeholders to look more closely at their resource use, developing better cold chain logistics precedents for the future.
While these are some of the most influential shifts organizations can make today, research and development is critical to fund and support, as they are the foundation for discovering even more effective ways to improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of the cold chain.
Transitioning to Natural Refrigerants
The age of high-emissions refrigerants is gone, with equally effective and more natural refrigerants entering the landscape. Options include ammonia, hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide. While each can leave its negative mark on the environment, such as ammonia’s smell or carbon dioxide’s pressure, they are significantly better than historical alternatives. Even air and water are possible options.
Experts will need to learn the nuances of each natural refrigerant option, just as they have learned to compensate for the harmful effects of conventional materials. The transition could lead to lower global warming potential, especially due to reduced leaks.
Enhancing Energy Efficiency
Because energy use from machinery and refrigeration is the most prominent source of emissions, it should be every supply chain’s priority. Understanding every device’s impact is the first step. Installing sensors and collecting data to visualize consumption are vital, and reviewing these metrics must become a common practice within the organization. The information will continuously reveal even more options for savings if used to its fullest utility.
In addition to smart technologies, renewable energy is viable for factories and warehouses. Installing assets such as solar panels or on-site wind turbines generates clean power for refrigerators and production lines. They can even connect to external batteries to keep operations running during outages, eliminating the need for diesel generators and their associated emissions.
These are the most apparent improvements, but advanced insulation is another way to maintain internal conditions and reduce the intensity of a facility’s utilities. For example, if HVAC systems have to work overtime because the building cannot maintain conditions, the carbon footprint of energy usage skyrockets. The same goes for cold storage, packaging and vehicles.
Optimizing Transportation and Logistics
Refrigerated transport uses 15% of the planet’s fossil fuels and that number is projected to grow. This reality makes transportation the other primary focus area, and options like electrified reefer units are making this more possible. These replace diesel-based technologies, eliminating fuel-related emissions and operational inefficiencies. With batteries and electric compressors, each component is more reliable and efficient.
There are many other ways to cut carbon from other facets of shipping. Route optimization is an opportunity to find more effective paths, reducing mileage and fuel consumption. Even if using electric vehicles, it is important to find the most direct path to minimize wear and tear on machinery. Sometimes, this includes model shifting, moving from consumptive planes to trains or boats for longer distances.
Reducing Waste
Better refrigeration could save 1.3 billion tons of food waste from landfill. Even more is preventable when considering the other sectors that require cold chain logistics. While many fail to consider the end of a product’s life cycle and dismiss associated emissions, these emissions are part of the life cycle assessment. Therefore, the negative impact that waste produces remains a corporate responsibility.
The best way to reduce waste is to improve refrigeration precision and insulation. Additionally, increasing access to better and technologically advanced refrigerators in more areas, especially in underserved areas, can keep the supply chain unbroken at every stage.
Sustainable Packaging
Preserving the packaging is one aspect of its footprint, while its materials are the other component. Many materials used for cold chain packaging are not recyclable, biodegradable or reusable, meaning the emissions generated to produce them are wasted as they end up in landfills at the end of their life cycle.
Companies must implement infrastructure to repurpose old packaging materials into new products or to reduce the use of insulation materials by converting old packaging into products with new utility.
How Cold Chain Warms the Planet
While necessary for preserving the world’s most important perishables, cold chain logistics is responsible for too many carbon emissions to ignore. While its processes are inherently consumptive and resource-intensive, innovations and technologies have emerged in recent years to mitigate some of this damage.
Industry stakeholders are responsible for moving beyond the reliable tactics of the past and implementing these new machines, fleets and refrigerants to reduce carbon emissions. Doing so will make the sector viable in the long term, preserving even more products and expanding inventory for consumers.