Morrisons announced on August 2 that it is the first retail food chain in the United Kingdom to take action with The Move to -15°C Coalition by turning the freezer temperatures from -18°C to -15°C at 10 stores.
Recent comprehensive academic studies have shown that an increase of just three degrees in freezer temperatures across the supply chain will transform the logistics landscape by cutting carbon emissions, saving energy and lowering costs. It has been calculated that widespread global adoption of the change would translate to potential savings equivalent to 8.6% of the UK’s energy consumption, and reduce carbon emissions equivalent to taking 3.8 million petrol-powered cars off the road.
In signing The Move to -15°C coalition’s letter of intent, Morrisons is also committing to advocate through Britain’s supply chain for food producers, logistics operations and retailers to join the coalition.
The carbon savings will be an important boost to its ambitions to achieve net zero carbon emissions from Morrisons’ own operations by 2035 and the significant cost savings will enable it to further cut, hold or promote prices at its approximately 500 supermarkets and 1,600 convenience stores across the UK over the long term.
“Industry standards are based on safety, science or convenience. The standard temperature for the storage and transport of frozen food today looks like it is simply a convention from nearly 100 years ago,” said Ruth McDonald, the retail chain’s group corporate services director. “We now have vastly better freezers and modern technology and monitoring that gives us a precise picture of frozen food temperatures throughout the supply chain. We applaud The Move to -15°C movement for their original thinking and willingness to challenge a long-accepted standard and in doing so identify a significant opportunity for positive progress for both the environment and the food industry.”
She added: “So on behalf of our customers, our carbon commitments and the planet we are enthusiastically embracing the opportunity and putting together a concrete plan and timetable to increase the freezer temperatures across our stores and frozen supply chain by 3°C. As we execute our plan, we will be encouraging our suppliers and partners to do the same.”
Thomas Eskesen, chairman of the Move to -15°C Coalition, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Morrisons to our Coalition, and are excited that they are taking action. In order for us to be successful with making the change to -15°C, it is essential that we have representatives and support from every stage of the frozen food supply chain, so to have a large UK retailer like Morrisons on board is an important step forward for us.”
