#Sustainability #United Kingdom #Glasgow #Cold Chain #Star Refrigeration

Star Refrigeration Wins Prestigious Award

On March 19, 2026, Star Refrigeration was awarded the prestigious title of Supplier of the Year at the Cold Chain Sustainability Awards, held during the Cold Chain Climate Energy Summit. This recognition highlights the company's significant contributions toward reducing environmental impact within the temperature-controlled logistics sector.

The summit was led by BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, who shared insights into the cold chain industry’s challenges as it strives toward net-zero emissions. The event also reflected on Star Refrigeration's successful partnership with Tesco, showcased in a BBC documentary series, underscoring their commitment to data-driven optimization.

Notably, Star Refrigeration wasn’t just recognized for its current efforts. The company celebrated over 30 years of membership with the Cold Chain Federation, marking its long-standing commitment to sustainable practices. They also garnered attention as a finalist in the Sustainable Partnership Project category for their collaborative efforts with Tesco at the Avonmouth distribution center, which underwent a data-led reassessment to enhance energy efficiency.

Dr. Rob Lamb, Group Sales and Marketing Director at Star Refrigeration, expressed pride in receiving the Supplier of the Year award, emphasizing that it reflects the ongoing initiatives within the company aimed at reducing environmental impacts. He noted the appreciation for the long-term partnership with Tesco and how such collaborations are critical in achieving performance improvements across the industry.

The Supplier of the Year category particularly honors businesses that show a solid commitment to lowering their emissions while aiding their clients in decarbonizing. Star Refrigeration focuses on delivering long-term performance by integrating engineering prowess with data analytics and operational insights to achieve measurable reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions.

With its corporate sustainability strategy closely aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Star Refrigeration operates under an ISO 14001-certified Environmental Management System which encourages continuous improvement. Following the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) requirements, Star has actionable initiatives, such as transitioning to an electric vehicle fleet, launching an employee EV salary sacrifice program, expanding on-site solar PV generation, and improving waste management practices.

However, the paramount impact lies within the efficiency of Star’s systems. For instance, their Azanechiller range exceeds the minimum energy performance standards by an impressive 110% while also achieving electricity savings of up to 52% compared to European EcoDesign benchmarks. In 2025, Star installed about 10 MW of high-efficiency systems using low-charge ammonia and CO2 at customer sites, resulting in an estimated reduction of CO2 emissions by 2,500 tonnes.

Star's AI-led optimization platform, Ethos, now operates in over 100 sites, producing annual energy savings of approximately 14,000 MWh, which correlates with around 2,448 tonnes of CO2 avoided each year. This collective effort manifests the company's dedication to environmental and social sustainability. Star offers competitive compensation and steadfast investment in employee training and wellness programs, substantiated by their recognition from Investors in People for excellence in employee engagement.

Moreover, Star Refrigeration places a significant emphasis on cultivating young talent through well-structured apprenticeship, graduate, and internship programs, including a term-time internship model that allows students to gain practical experience alongside their studies. This program provides students with a competitive salary and a monetary bursary of £2,000, equivalent to about £10,000 annually, while also offering a systematic career development pathway aligned with formal qualifications.

Star Refrigeration’s long-term commitment to its workforce has fostered a pool of technical expertise within the company. With an average employee tenure of 15 years, the organization retains invaluable knowledge, continuing to enhance performance for clients consistently. This deep-rooted expertise is pivotal to their strategy of delivering efficient designs and data-led optimizations aimed at reducing emissions. Star regularly engages clients to consider whether to optimize, upgrade, or replace existing assets based on total ownership costs, further aligning with the principles of circular economy engineering.

The highlight of their innovative approach is the collaboration with Tesco at their Peterborough distribution center, where a compressor failure turned into an opportunity for enhanced energy performance. Rather than replacing the faulty compressor directly, Star reassessed the center's cooling loads and devised a lifecycle perspective on the refrigeration plant. After analyzing historical data and operational insights, they found that the original cooling system was designed for a capacity far exceeding the actual summer demand. This led to the successful recommendation of a variable-speed drive that aligns with the site's cooling needs, making significant strides toward improved energy efficiency.

As a testament to their relentless efforts in sustainability and innovation, in 2025, Star Refrigeration was also named Manufacturer of the Year at the Made in Scotland Awards. The accolades affirm Star's continued dedication to measurable reductions in carbon and energy consumption across its operations and those of its partners throughout the cold chain.