- Coca-Cola is currently switching to CO2-based refrigeration as an alternative it believes to be "safe, reliable and more energy efficient" than HFC equipment. The company says that 50% of its suppliers have already switched out of HFC foam and that, as of 2005, only equipment using non-HFC blown foam will be certified for purchase in the company's system
- Unilever Ice Cream has chosen Hydrocarbon (HC) as its preferred alternative to HFCs. As of 2005, Unilever has committed to buy only HFC-free ice-cream cabinets and expects to have already about 80,000 on the market by them. The company says its businesses currently operate some 2 millions freezers around the world.
- McDonald's has run a pilot-programme in one of its restaurants in Denmark working only on HFC-free refrigeration and will continue development work and testing in 2004-2005. According to Greenpeace, Mc Donald's has undertaken to convert 30,000 of its restaurants to alternative refrigeration in a timeframe that is still to be defined.
In parallel, environmentally-friendly refrigeration technologies were showcased as possible alternative to HFCs.
- Hydrocarbons (HC) are currently used mainly in domestic refrigeration and have been available in the EU and Asia for a number of years. They are now being introduced in commercial refrigerations.
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2) refrigeration systems work similarly to conventional systems and one believed to offer excellent opportunities for commercial refrigeration.
- The Stirling Cycle - running on helium and radically different to the cooling cycle which traditionally runs on F-gases or alternatives such as CO2 or HC - have been used in cryogenics for a long time. Its use in commercial refrigeration represents a new development particularly for smaller-size.
- Thermoacoustic cooling
- Solar-powered refrigerators
