Star Refrigeration wins Supplier of the Year for driving energy and carbon reductions across the cold chain

GLASGOW, Scotland, March 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Star Refrigeration has been named Supplier of the Year 2026 at the Cold Chain Sustainability Awards, recognising its work to reduce environmental impact across the temperature-controlled logistics sector.

The award was announced at the Cold Chain Climate & Energy Summit on 19 March 2026, hosted by BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, who led the event and shared insights into the challenges facing the cold chain as it works towards net zero. Rowlatt has previously covered the sector through the BBC documentary series 'What They Really Mean for You', which featured Star Refrigeration's partnership with Tesco at its Avonmouth distribution centre, showcasing the role of data-led optimisation in improving energy performance and reducing emissions.

At the event, Star was also recognised for 30 years of membership with the Cold Chain Federation and named a finalist in the Sustainable Partnership Project category for its work with Tesco at its Peterborough distribution centre, where a compressor failure prompted a data-led reassessment of cooling demand and a more efficient long-term solution.

Organised by the Cold Chain Federation, the awards celebrate businesses and individuals across the storage and distribution of chilled and frozen food, pharmaceuticals and other temperature-sensitive products, highlighting those leading progress towards a more sustainable cold chain.

Dr Rob Lamb, Group Sales and Marketing Director at Star Refrigeration, said:
"We are delighted to have been named Supplier of the Year 2026. This recognition reflects the work taking place across the business to reduce environmental impact and support customers in lowering both energy use and total cost of ownership.

"Being recognised as a finalist for our partnership with Tesco also highlights the strength of long-term collaboration in delivering improvements in efficiency and performance across the industry. It was also an honour to be recognised for 30 years of membership with the Cold Chain Federation, which continues to play an important role in bringing the industry together and sharing best practice".

The Supplier of the Year category recognises organisations that demonstrate a clear commitment to reducing their own emissions while supporting customers to decarbonise.

Star focuses on long-term performance, combining engineering, data and operational insight to deliver measurable reductions in energy use and carbon emissions. Its corporate sustainability strategy aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and is governed through an ISO 14001-certified Environmental Management system, with a Plan–Do–Check–Act system supporting continuous improvement.

In line with Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) requirements, Star continues to reduce its operational emissions through initiatives including the transition to an electric vehicle fleet, an employee EV salary sacrifice scheme, expanded on-site solar PV generation and improved waste management practices.

The company's greatest impact, however, lies in the performance of the systems it delivers. Its Azanechiller range exceeds minimum energy performance standards by up to 110% and can achieve electricity savings of up to 52% compared with European EcoDesign benchmarks.

In 2025, Star installed approximately 10 MW of high-efficiency, low-charge ammonia and CO₂ systems across customer sites, delivering an estimated 2,500 tonnes of CO₂e savings compared to baseline standards. Its AI-led optimisation platform, Ethos, now supports more than 100 sites, delivering around 14,000 MWh of annual energy savings, equivalent to approximately 2,448 tonnes of CO₂e avoided each year.

The company also continues to invest in its people, recognising the link between environmental and social sustainability. Employees benefit from a competitive, regularly benchmarked package, alongside continued investment in training, development and wellbeing. This is reflected in its Investors in People (Platinum) and Investors in Young People (Gold) accreditations.

Apprenticeship, graduate and internship programmes remain a key focus, including a term-time internship model introduced to attract emerging talent. The scheme allows students to gain practical experience alongside their studies, with National Living Wage pay and a £2,000 bursary, equating to around £10,000 annually. Supported by a structured five-level engineering development pathway aligned with recognised qualifications, these programmes are helping to build the next generation of engineers required to deliver low-carbon refrigeration and heating services.

This long-term investment has helped build deep technical expertise across the business, with knowledge retained and shared over time. With an average employee tenure of 15 years, that experience is embedded within the organisation, enabling teams to employ proven solutions and continuously improve performance across customer sites.

Star Refrigeration also continues to work closely with customers to reduce emissions through a combination of efficient design, data-led optimisation, whole life performance improvements and circular economy engineering. This includes refurbishing and repurposing equipment to avoid unnecessary manufacturing and waste, as well as supporting customers in making informed decisions on whether to optimise, upgrade or replace assets based on total cost of ownership.

This approach was recognised in the company's finalist nomination in the Sustainable Partnership Project category for its collaboration with Tesco at the retailer's Peterborough distribution centre. At the site, a compressor fault became an opportunity to improve energy performance and reduce emissions.

Following the failure of a 2.2MW fixed-speed compressor at the site, the conventional industry response would have been a direct like-for-like replacement. Instead, Star Refrigeration reassessed the site's cooling requirements, taking a lifecycle view of the refrigeration plant.

Analysis of historical performance data, real-time operational insights and digital twin modelling found that the plant's original design cooling capacity was more than double the site's peak summer demand, leaving the large fixed-speed screw compressors operating inefficiently at part load for much of the year.

The study identified a lower-capacity variable speed drive (VSD) compressor as the most technically robust and commercially viable solution, better matched to the site's actual cooling demand.

Dan McDougall, Key Account Manager – Technical Sales at Star Refrigeration, said:

"We are proud that our collaboration with Tesco has also been recognised at the Cold Chain Sustainability Awards 2026.

"We're grateful to the team at Tesco for their trust and backing our evidence based recommendation to upgrade the compressor. The long-term gains in energy efficiency, environmental impact and system performance made it the right decision for the future".

"We've built a strong partnership with Tesco over decades, delivering substantial improvements year after year. Sustaining that progress requires continuous performance optimisation, strong operational support and, above all, trust that is built on transparency and a shared vision."

In 2025, Star Refrigeration was also named Manufacturer of the Year (£25m+) at the Made in Scotland Awards, providing further recognition of its continued investment in innovation, operational performance and sustainable growth.

These awards highlight Star Refrigeration's focus on delivering measurable carbon and energy reductions, both within its own operations and through the solutions it delivers across the cold chain.

SOURCE Star Refrigeration