In an innovative step to address climate change, Morrisons has increased the temperature of its freezers by 3°C in a trial aimed at reducing carbon emissions.
The supermarket chain, believing it is the first UK retailer to take such action, notes that the industry standard of setting freezers to -18°C has been in place for nearly a century, despite advances in refrigeration technology.
Freezers in ten stores across the country have undergone this change, with plans to expand to other locations. Morrisons emphasizes that this adjustment will not compromise food safety. Dr. Christian Reynolds, a Senior Lecturer in Food Policy at City, University of London, supports this, stating, "The UK's chill chain is very effective, and so I think a three-degree warming is not particularly an issue."
Recent studies suggest that a 3°C increase in freezer temperatures across the supply chain could significantly reduce carbon emissions, save energy, and lower costs. According to the supermarket, such an adjustment could lead to potential savings equivalent to 8.6 percent of the UK's energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions by an amount comparable to removing 3.8 million cars from the road.
Morrisons is advocating for a broader adoption of this change across the UK supply chain and has called on food producers, logistics operations, and retailers to join the Move to -15°C Coalition. This initiative aligns with Morrisons' goals of achieving net zero emissions from its operations by 2035. Additionally, the cost savings from this initiative could help the supermarket maintain or lower prices across its 500 supermarkets and 1,600 convenience stores in the UK.
Ruth McDonald, Morrisons' Group Corporate Services Director, remarked, "Today's industry standards are based on outdated conventions. With our advanced freezers and modern technology, we can now precisely monitor frozen food temperatures throughout the supply chain."
MailOnline has reached out to Morrisons for a complete list of the stores involved in this trial. Photo by Gordon McKinlay, Wikimedia commons.