Michael Bennet AM

Australian Refrigeration Council chair and former Refrigerant Reclaim Australia general manager Michael Bennett received a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2023 Australia Day Honours, adding to his long list of accolades.

Michael’s honour was in recognition of his “significant service to the refrigeration industry, and to the environment”.

In addition to being presented the VASA Legend Award at last year’s Wire & Gas convention, Michael was recognised by the Australian government in 2012 for his leadership and management of the national refrigerant stewardship scheme, and for his support of research on emissions of ozone-depleting substances in Australia.

He also jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 as an author of the Safeguarding the Ozone Layer and the Global Climate System report produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Technical and Economic Advisory Panel (TEAP).

Among his other accolades are the United Nations Montreal Protocol Award in 2007, the United States Environment Protection Agency Climate Protection Award in 2006 and the United States Environment Protection Agency Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award in 1995.

VASA congratulates Michael on his well-deserved recognition and thanks him on behalf of the industry for his many years of support and advocacy.