UL Environment certifies first refrigerator

UL Environment, a business unit of UL (Underwriters Laboratories), has announced that appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corp. has become the first company in the marketplace to achieve certification of its products to the new AHAM-CSA-UL sustainability standard for household refrigeration appliances.

Developed collaboratively by UL Environment, the Association of Home Appliances Manufacturers and the Canadian Standards Association, this new sustainability standard requires that refrigerators meet lifecycle-based environmental performance criteria across five categories: materials, energy consumption during use, manufacturing and operations, product performance, and end of life. The first refrigeration products to meet these criteria and achieve UL Environment certification to the standard are Whirlpool Corp.'s French door-style, bottom-mount household refrigerators.

"We are confident that Whirlpool Corp.'s forthcoming certification will set the stage for other refrigerator manufacturers to follow suit, spurring positive transformation toward environmental stewardship across the home appliances industry," said Sara Greenstein, president of UL Environment, in a prepared statement.