CFCs and HCFCs correspondence and other papers

Correspondence and other papers about the use of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and HCFCs in equipment and products at Sainsbury's and Homebase. Includes internal correspondence and memoranda, correspondence with packaging and refrigeration suppliers, copies of reports, and copies of press cuttings.

CFCs were widely used for various purposes including in aerosols, refrigeration, and packaging. They were however shown to cause damage to the Earth's ozone layer and this had become identified as a major environmental issue by the 1980s which resulted in the signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 which restricted the manufacture of CFCs. Sainsbury's were active in reducing their use of CFCs from an early date - for example by introducing a range of CFC-free range of aerosol products in 1978.

The file includes items relating to refrigerant gases in delivery vehicles, alternatives to CFCs and concerns about some of these alternatives, and CFC use in polystyrene meat trays.

The items in this file are mainly addressed or copied to M.D. Conolly (chairman of Sainsbury's Environment Affairs Committee and Director of Marketing).