At a time when the sustainability of the planet is more in danger than ever, the involvement of all sectors in the preservation of the environment is essential. It is not just about adopting and applying corrective measures to stop environmental deterioration, but also about acting as speakers for awareness campaigns or initiatives to pursue criminal activities.

Precisely in this last aspect, GRIT joins a new campaign against the illegal trade in refrigerants. Aware of the role that gas-producing companies can play, the objective is to join forces to stop a crime that has been gaining a huge boom in the last two years: the smuggling of HFCs, a type of gases used in refrigeration systems.

GRIT’s commitment to the environment has been demonstrated for a long time with strong support for R & D & I. We are constantly looking for new products that are more respectful for the environment, because as manufacturers we are aware that we also have a great responsibility in preserving the planet.

Now, we join the new initiative of the European Fluorocarbons Technical Committee (EFCTC), an organization that encompasses refrigerant producers. The objective is to publicly denounce and fight against illegal imports of HFCs. These represent a huge threat, as they can undermine some of the most important European environmental policies adopted in recent years.

Thus, the #SayNoToIllegalHFCs campaign is a call to join forces and fight the smuggling of HFCs. A battle in which GRIT participates as one of the largest producers of refrigerant gases, but which is open to everyone, from manufacturers to marketers, institutions and users.

An illegal trade on the rise.

Large-scale criminal organizations increasingly operate in broader fields and know no borders. In 2015, the European Union launched an ambitious quota plan to reduce the use of HFCs by up to 79% by 2030 and replace them with gases that are safer for the atmosphere.

This is where organized crime has found a new source of “business.” A business as lucrative as it is dangerous for the planet. A study commissioned by the EFCTC indicates that smuggling of this type of gas would represent up to 33% of the legal market allowed in Europe for 2018. It would be the equivalent to 34 million tons of CO2 emitted. In other words: the annual impact of a developed country.

A disproportionate increase in imports from China to countries neighboring the EU, as well as the discrepancies between the data relating to the export of the Asian country and the imports registered by European organizations give the definitive clue that this illegal trade is a dangerous reality against which you have to fight.

A common front

The first step in fighting this illegal trade starts with something as simple as rejection. A report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) showed that more than 80% of those who are part of the refrigerant value chain know about this black market. That is why it is so important that producers, distributors, customers and everyone let’s “say no”.

But the EFCTC also calls for greater customs surveillance and greater coordination between all those actors in the value chain. As a result of that desire to unite to fight a criminal activity that affects us all, GRIT joins the #SayNoToIllegalHFCs campaign. Because the planet is our home and because it is everyone’s job, people, companies and institutions, to take care of it.