REFCOM membership tops 9,000

F-Gas certification body REFCOM has registered its 9,000th member and says the figure reflects rising levels of best practice across the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump (RACHP) industry. 

Greater regulatory pressures prompted by the Building Safety Act and growing scrutiny around environmental standards means more building engineering contractors are turning to REFCOM to help them achieve legal compliance and demonstrate competence, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), which operates the register. 

“This milestone reflects the growing professionalism of the RACHP sector and the trust that businesses place in REFCOM,” said BESA Director of Competence and Compliance Jill Nicholls. “Helping our members reach and maintain higher standards of safety, compliance, and environmental responsibility is a critical part of our role.” 

Nicholls added that REFCOM’s ongoing investment in digital tools, training partnerships, and its ‘Elite Membership’ scheme offered further practical support to contractors beyond certification. She said these would be increasingly important to firms working to meet rising customer expectations and cope with further proposed changes to legislation. 

At a recent industry briefing event hosted by REFCOM, a government spokesman warned that tighter rules around the use of global warming refrigerant F-gases were likely. These could include the speeding up of phase out programmes and new bans on some types of refrigerant gas, according to Jacob Andresen from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). 

Andresen, who leads the department’s F-Gas policy team, said the government was planning to consult the sector later this year on reforming its approach as it seeks to meet its obligations of remaining in step with the EU on refrigerant management and contributing to the UK’s own net zero targets. 

During wider discussions at the event, REFCOM members said the flammability of alternative gases was a growing concern and called for the government to provide an information campaign and ensure more people undertook specialist training.