2026 Q2 Recap Newsletter
Dear REEF Community,
From Climate Week and Trellis Impact in San Francisco to ATMO America in New York, REEF spent Q2 focused on highlighting scalable solutions across the HVAC industry and fostering connections that drive measurable climate impact.Throughout our engagements, one theme emerged again and again: interdependence. No single technology, policy, manufacturer, contractor, researcher, or building owner will drive the refrigerant transition alone.
We're especially grateful for the collective leadership that continues to help advance refrigerant and super pollutant solutions across industries. The breadth of expertise represented across our REEF community—from refrigerant management and recovery to carbon markets, project finance, and implementation—is a powerful reminder of what we can accomplish when we work together.
Upcoming Events
Climate Week NYC
REEF Presents: The Cool House
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026
On the 10th anniversary of the Kigali Amendment—one of the most successful environmental agreements in history—REEF will convene the cooling industry's signature Climate Week celebration with The Cool House on September 22nd. As global leaders convene in NYC alongside the United Nations General Assembly, the cooling sector will take center stage to celebrate a decade of progress and chart the course for the decade ahead.
REEF's Cool House will serve as the industry's “hot spot,” bringing together the people, technologies, and partnerships transforming the future of sustainable cooling. Part living showroom, part innovation hub, and part celebration space. It will be a place where people can see, touch, taste, and experience the future of cooling. The Cool House will convene the people building the future of cooling from equipment manufacturers and refrigerant innovators to building owners, retailers, policymakers, engineers, investors, technicians, and climate advocates.
Visitors will explore the technologies, partnerships, and policies driving progress today while experiencing the cooling solutions that will define tomorrow's buildings, cities, and economies. The Montreal Protocol proved that global cooperation works. The Kigali Amendment proved that climate action can scale. The Cool House will prove that the next decade will bring even more progress by celebrating what has been achieved and by inspiring the next generation of energy, impact, and action.
Want to co-host, sponsor, or partner with The Cool House?
The Cool House is built around experiences, not exhibit booths. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all sponsorships, REEF has created a variety of opportunities for organizations to align their brand with meaningful moments throughout the day—from immersive activation zones and educational experiences to networking events and hospitality spaces. Whether your goal is thought leadership, product visibility, customer engagement, workforce development, or community impact, there's an opportunity to participate in a way that reflects your organization's priorities.
If you're interested in sponsorship and engagement opportunities, please email contact@reefclimate.org.
REEF Growth
Welcome, Jeff!
We're thrilled to announce that Jeff Fralick has joined REEF as our new Senior Program Manager!
As a climate scientist and environmental advocate, Jeff brings with him a wealth of experience advancing international, federal, and state climate policy.
Jeff's career has been driven by a commitment to translating complex science into practical solutions that advance climate action and environmental protection, particularly as a Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) Fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council where he supported domestic and international HFC reduction strategies under the AIM Act and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
After building much of his career in Washington DC, Jeff recently relocated to Salt Lake City, where he enjoys hiking, skiing, and spending time in nature.
As Senior Program Manager at REEF, Jeff will help develop and deliver new activities critical to REEF's support of refrigerant action by end-users and support the build out of REEF's international engagement.
We're especially grateful for the fresh energy and policy leadership Jeff brings to the REEF team as we continue to expand our programming and advance our mission.
Welcome, Ben!
We're thrilled to announce that Benjamin Galuza has joined the REEF Board of Directors!
Benjamin Galuza, PE, is a National Operations Manager, Energy Transition at Turner Construction Company, where he leads complex capital programs integrating design, construction, and operations.
He brings 20 years of multi-sector, global experience across higher education, biotech, pharma, aviation, healthcare, industrial, commercial, laboratory, and district-scale developments. His focused expertise is on decarbonization strategy, MEP infrastructure, total cost of ownership, and high-performance buildings.
After practicing as a PE, Ben served as MEP Systems Executive at Google and Senior Program Lead at Rivian, leading energy, infrastructure, and systems strategy for major buildings, campuses, and manufacturing programs.
Ben is excited to support REEF's mission by helping owners connect their refrigerant strategy to electrification, heat recovery, and capital planning.
We’re honored to have Ben join REEF’s leadership team as we continue advancing refrigerant solutions that serve people, performance, and the planet.
REEF Receives Grant Support from the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust
REEF is pleased to announce that the Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust has awarded a grant to support our efforts advancing one of the most powerful yet under-addressed climate solutions: eliminating the negative climate and environmental impacts of refrigerants.
The grant will provide general operating support for REEF’s work from May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027, helping REEF expand its efforts to inspire and drive business action on refrigerant emissions as a means to transform the broader refrigerant landscape toward zero climate and environmental impact.
"This support from Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust is a game-changer,” said REEF Executive Director, Aleisha Khan. “As we leverage our industry position to scale up awareness among end-users, this grant will allow REEF to inform smart refrigerant investments and operational practices that benefit both the bottom line and the climate.”
"Taking urgent action to keep fluorinated gases out of the atmosphere and reduce the climate impact of heating and cooling our buildings is achievable and scalable today. REEF is working to accelerate that transition across the industry."
- Aleisha Khan, REEF Executive Director
We're proud to spotlight Roche as the newest valued member of the REEF community!
Roche is one of the world's leading healthcare companies, providing transformative medicines and diagnostics for millions of people in over 100 countries around the world. Roche is committed to reducing its environmental footprint, working across its value chain to cut emissions, protect biodiversity and water resources, and minimise the impact of its operations and products.
Roche's environmental commitments, including its dedication to eliminating halogenated hydrocarbons from its facilities by 2030, strongly align with REEF’s mission to inspire and drive business action on refrigerant emissions as a means to transform the broader refrigerant landscape toward zero climate and environmental impact.
We’re grateful for Roche’s leadership and collaboration and we look forward to working together as we continue accelerating the refrigerant transition.
Education
Bringing refrigerants into C-suite discussions and capital expenditure considerations, beyond day-to-day operational use
The Refrigerant, Circularity, & Efficiency Nexus
In May, REEF continued our quarterly webinar series by collaborating with the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) to present an interactive Call to Comment exploring the HVAC nexus: an integrated framework connecting refrigerant transition, circularity, and energy efficiency. Grounded in CCSI’s recent report, this session invited participants to actively engage with the material through live polls, discussion prompts, and audience reflection woven throughout each section.
Speakers:
Laura Garcia Cancino, Senior Researcher at CCSI
Ben Baraga, Program Associate at CCSI
Adam Dykstra, Co-Founder of FMHero
Rather than a traditional webinar, this event was designed as a collaborative learning experience, giving attendees the opportunity to weigh in on key questions, compare perspectives with peers, and contribute live commentary on the challenges and opportunities shaping HVAC transition planning. We examined how the HVAC sector can decarbonize the built environment while meeting growing heating and cooling demand through a transition to low-GWP, PFAS-free refrigerants, stronger refrigerant circularity practices (including recovery, reuse, and leakage prevention), and accelerated deployment of high-efficiency technologies like heat pumps.
Participants left with a stronger understanding of why these three pillars function as a mutually reinforcing nexus, and how integrated transition plans can reduce emissions in practice, avoid stranded assets, and support long-term system performance.
You can access the recording, slides, and polls below.
Engagement
Using corporate, market, and policy levers as key entry points to ensure refrigerants are recognized as a critical climate issue
San Francisco Climate Week
In April, the REEF team convened in California for San Francisco Climate Week to present California Leads the Way on Natural Refrigerants, HVACR Innovation & Market Transformation, a public refrigerants event co-hosted with the Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN), San Francisco Environment Department, and êffecterra as well as partners North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) and CalNEXT.
After an opening keynote by Elizabeth Scheele of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), a packed room heard our speakers share contractor, commercial OEM, designer, operator, reclaimer, and residential OEM/innovator perspectives on how California is advancing market adoption of refrigeration and HVAC with natural refrigerants and what's needed to continue developing a robust circular refrigerant market. The refrigerant transition is here and happening, and this event underscored that accelerating it requires systems-level collaboration and collective commitment to an ultra-low GWP future.
Speakers:
- Stet Sanborn, AIA FASHRAE, SmithGroup
- Robert Leonard, Key Mechanical
- Ruth M. Ivory-Moore, Hudson Technologies
- Pierre Delforge, Harvest Thermal
The event's energy carried into REEF's post-event 'cooldown' happy hour, where we brought together refrigerant aficionados across industries for a night of networking and meaningful connection. The rest of our time in SF was spent building and strategizing with the REEF staff and Board of Directors, as well as a team expedition to the SF Exploratorium to finish out the week.
ATMO America
June 2-3 2026
In early June, REEF partnered with ATMOsphere America Summit, the leading event championing natural refrigerants. This summit delivers real-world case studies, policy updates, and market trends for commercial refrigeration and HVAC applications. Amid discussions on health and safety standards with regulatory shifts away from PFAS-laden HFOs, it underscores the business case for clean cooling.
REEF brought HVAC to the forefront of the natural refrigerants conversation through our panel, From Portfolio Data to Project Design: How End Users Are Advancing the Transition to Natural Refrigerants. The panel featured a remarkable group of building owners, researchers, designers, innovators, and workforce leaders showcasing a growing pipeline of real-world projects shaping the future of HVAC in the United States.
From ammonia-based district heating and commercial CO₂ heat pumps to R290 air-to-water systems, workforce training centers, and utility-funded demonstrations, these projects demonstrate that natural refrigerants are no longer a future concept for HVAC, but an emerging market reality.
Read more about the event here.
Trellis Impact
June 23-25 2026
REEF ended the month by spending two days in San Francisco at Trellis Impact with leaders across climate, finance, and tech focused on scaling real solutions across the sustainability landscape.
REEF Executive Director Aleisha Khan cohosted a fireside chat alongside Beyond Alliance Director Luke Pritchard, The Fastest Ton: Making Super Pollutants Core to Your Decarbonization Roadmap, where an expert lineup of speakers discussed how companies can prioritize super pollutant reduction alongside long-term decarbonization roadmaps, demonstrating the progression from site specific business plan to scalable implementation of decarbonization.
We were honored to be alongside such a talented group, including many REEF community members. One thing we're most proud of at REEF is our members' willingness to share lessons learned, showcase real-world solutions, and help move the broader market forward. Trellis was a fantastic opportunity to do exactly that.
Read more about the event here.
Empowerment
Empowering building owners to take data-driven action to manage costs, lower risk, and reduce their emissions
State Policy Map
Learn about current refrigerant regulations in each state.
AIM Act for HVAC Owners & Operators
This fact sheet offers guidance for maintaining compliance.
