The regulation stipulates that the use and sale of virgin hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) will be banned from 1 January 2010. HCFCs (most commonly in the form of R-22) are used in a variety of refrigeration and air conditioning installations (both stationary and mobile), such as:

• commercial refrigeration (supermarkets, restaurants)
• process cooling in industry
• chillers
• cold and freezing stores
• food liquids cooling
• ice machines
• ice rinks

Any business, therefore, that uses such installations will be affected by the ban, and should be taking preparatory measures to ensure compliance in time for the 2010 deadline.

At present (week 27/2008) – with less than 80 weeks to go before the ban – there are still over 130,000 tonnes of HCFCs in more than 7 million installations across the EU. This means that numerous businesses are risking real threats to their operational continuity, in addition to spiralling costs, if they fail to take action now.

There are, however, a variety of solutions available. This site has been designed to explain the phase-out issue and solutions to it in accessible language. It is also intended to raise awareness of the impending deadline and its potential impact to ensure that you have all the information that you need to select the optimal response for your business.

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