Key Findings

Refrigerant leaks were detected in 50% of the 28 stores investigated in Northern California.	The Save Mart Companies (“Save Mart”) had leaks in 75% of stores visited.
Leaks were found in half of the Safeway, Smart & Final, and Walmart stores visited for each company.	Investigations in the Washington, DC metro area and New York City have revealed similarly high rates of leaking stores.
Albertsons – parent company of Safeway – and Save Mart have both settled with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) numerous times between 2015 and 2024 for violations of the state’s Refrigerant Management Program, with penalties totaling nearly $7 million.	Based on CARB refrigerant management data, 23 of the stores in this investigation reported leaks in 2023. In 2024, our investigation found leaks at 12 of those stores, suggesting chronic leaks.

Nearly all cooling systems, from a small window air conditioner to a large supermarket freezer, use some type of refrigerant. The most common in the market today are HFCs. HFCs were introduced in the 1990s as a replacement for ozone depleting substances (ODS), which are being eliminated globally under the Montreal Protocol. While HFCs are not ODS, they are thousands of times more powerful climate warming gases than CO₂, with global warming potentials (GWPs) as high as 12,690 – earning their title of “super pollutants.”

HFCs are projected to comprise 19% of total global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as demand for cooling and refrigeration systems increases worldwide; addressing these gases has been recognized among the largest climate mitigation opportunities available. Under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the global community is already working to phase down HFCs and transition to climate-friendly alternatives, including in the U.S. Alternative refrigerants with ultra-low GWPs such as CO₂, propane, ammonia, and other hydrocarbon blends are already in use today.