Climate Polluter Alert for Community Ice Rinks

Has your community ice rink been told synthetic coolants like Opteon are “environmentally friendly?” Community ice rinks throughout North America are the targets of climate misinformation and greenwashing by companies seeking to profit by encouraging a switch to synthetic coolants which dramatically warm the planet [and contain “forever chemicals”]. Synthetic coolants, known as HFCs or hydrofluorocarbons, are super pollutants – the world’s most destructive human-made greenhouse gases. Currently, 93% of ice rinks in Canada use climate-friendly natural coolants like CO₂ and Ammonia that have a global warming potential (GWP) of one and zero, respectively. Transitioning to HFCs would be in direct conflict with Canada’s climate goals as commonly used HFCs have GWPs thousands of times higher. Read the full fact sheet for information on the climate, economic, and practical reasons to use natural coolants in your local rinks.