ASHRAE is joining organizations, governments and industry leaders around the world in celebrating World Refrigeration Day 2025 on June 26. World Refrigeration Day is an international awareness campaign established to raise the profile of the refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat-pump sector and focuses attention on the significant role that the industry and its technology play in modern life and society.
This year’s theme of WRD 2025 is “Cool Skills” recognizes the wide range of skills required to deliver sustainable cooling that protects the environment, safeguards human health and comfort and supports modern life in countless ways. The campaign aims to place the spotlight on the professionals whose expertise underpins refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps and other low-carbon cooling systems.
As part of WRD 2025, ASHRAE and the United Nations Environment Programme OzonAction continue their collaboration to enhance education and skills training in the RACHP sector. One such initiative is the Checklists to Assess Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC) Plant Sustainability, developed to help plant managers and service technicians benchmark performance in energy efficiency and environmental responsibility. The checklists are free to access with registration, which also enables users to receive updates and provide feedback.
In addition, several web-based learning tools are available to support workforce readiness:
Energy Efficiency Literacy for Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems, (Revised) 3.5 hours
The new edition of this course includes updated charts and figures, including ACR energy consumption, adoption of minimum energy performance standards, equipment efficiency ratings and measurements, as well as global land and ocean surface temperature.
Refrigerants Literacy (SI), 4.5 hours
This course offers a basic understanding of refrigerant types, policies, classifications and management practices. It is aimed at non-specialists in the field, such as facility managers, policymakers and other individuals involved in refrigerant issues from a non-technical perspective. It also can serve as an introduction to refrigerant basics for those new to the industry. The course is available in English, Spanish and French languages.
Refrigerant Management for Future Engineers (free university-level course): Offers a technical and policy-based foundation in refrigerant management, co-developed with UNEP and delivered by ASHRAE.
ASHRAE has proudly supported World Refrigeration Day since its founding in 2019. For more WRD 2025 resources and learning tools, visit the ASHRAE UNEP Portal.
