How raising freezer temperatures by 3 degrees could avoid millions of tons of emissions

A coalition of major companies—including Maersk, IKEA, and Wayne-Sanderson Farms—is running pilot projects to shift frozen food distribution from the 100-year-old -18°C standard to -15°C, which academic research confirms poses no food safety risk while cutting energy use by 1.5–3.5% per degree and avoiding an estimated 18 million tons of CO2-equivalent emissions annually.

Implementation requires changes across supply chains, contracts, and regional regulations; pilots are underway but scaling remains in progress.