Spotlight on 2022's Project of the Year Winner: Chemours Gem City Market Community Food Co-Op

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Chemours E+E Leader EEAwardsin22

Gem City Market (GCM) Community Food Co-Op Project

The Gem City Market (GCM) Community Food Co-Op project exemplifies the impact companies can make by collaborating to help address issues affecting low-income communities. Chemours, Emerson, and Hussmann integrated their individual areas of expertise to support the elimination of a food desert in downtown Dayton, Ohio, in ways that are sustainable for its operation and the planet. With a significant portion of GCM’s 8,000 sqft. retail space requiring medium and low-temperature refrigeration, the refrigeration system became a focal point for supporting GCM’s environmental responsibility, long-term energy savings, low operating costs, and ease of maintenance.

Chemours donated its Opteon XP10 (R-513A) low-pressure, low-GWP refrigerant to serve as the single-refrigerant solution for the Copeland scroll booster architecture custom-designed and donated by Emerson. Hussmann provided an assembled refrigeration system. Because Opteon XP10 can serve as the single refrigerant for GCM’s needs storewide, it helps maintain a simple, more cost-effective system over its lifetime that will drive lower energy consumption and fewer carbon emissions—keeping GCM compliant with evolving mandates in commercial refrigeration. The reduced energy usage will pay dividends for decades in the form of lower energy bills, potentially representing a large percentage of overall operating costs.

What the 2022 Judge’s had to say:

"The lower energy cost will reduce the overall operating costs. In addition, the R513A refrigerant has the lowest GWP, non-flammable, and does not deplete the ozone. Great job, collaborating to offer a sustainable environmentally friendly option to eliminate food insecurity."

"The project ... has the added benefit of highlighting the intersection of environmental and social impact with regard to opening a food store in an underserved community, where lower operating costs might really be a make-or-break issue."

Environment + Energy Leader