The Food Marketing Institute’s annual Energy & Store Development Conference (E+SD), to be held September 8-11 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas, will offer its usual blend of refrigeration, energy and store development workshops, a GreenChill awards ceremony and a regulations update geared to the food retail community.
Although natural refrigerants are not referred to specifically in the program, the conference includes workshops on current and future refrigeration architecture, and replacement strategies for equipment using R22.
Other refrigeration workshops include best practices for refrigeration contractors in installation and maintenance; best practices for improving refrigeration via HVAC and humidity management; and in-store system flexibility.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host its annual GreenChill program’s Achievement Recognition event. GreenChill is a voluntary EPA program in which participating retailers commit to cutting their emission rates; many retailers do this by adopting natural refrigerant systems. GreenChill retail partners represent approximately 30% of U.S. supermarkets.
The GreenChill awards include best emissions rate, exceptional leak goal achievement and store certification excellence (GreenChill certifies individual stores that reach certain leak and charge levels). An award also goes to the best GreenChill certified store, which has typically employed a natural refrigerant system.
The event also features a refrigerants and energy regulations update, which will be given by two representatives of the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), Lauren MacGowens, sector lead, refrigeration technology, and Helen Walter-Terrinoni, vice president regulatory affairs.
The update will cover regulations on what refrigerants can be used in air conditioning and refrigeration, both at the Federal and State levels.
Energy and design workshops
The conference’s energy workshops include energy test case study results, using software analytics to improve and maintain performance of refrigeration systems, energy procurement, sustainability scorecard, and energy efficiency and maintenance management in supermarkets.
The store development workshops encompass micro fulfillment, mixed-use urban design, experiential store design, autonomous vehicles/robotics, and small platforms/design layout.
In addition, Michael Sansolo, retail food industry consultant and research director, Coca-Cola Retailing Research Councils of North and Latin America, will discuss findings from the Councils’ two most recent studies on the risks supermarkets face from changing consumer habits, technology and emerging competition.
The event also offers, on two successive evenings, a manufacturer/retailer exchange in which retailers can meet with suppliers of energy management, HVAC, refrigeration, design, construction and lighting systems.
On the last day of the conference, facility and design tours will be held.
The conference co-chairs are John Lerch, director, energy and facilities, Weis Markets, and Brad Morris, senior manager, engineering and energy, Giant Eagle.
