The current chair of the Australian Refrigeration Council board and former Refrigerant Reclaim Australia general manager was presented with the prestigious Legend Award at the Wire & Gas 2022 Gala Dinner, convened by automotive air-conditioning trade association VASA.
VASA president Ian Stangroome said Mr Bennett has spent most of his career involved with all manners of industrial gases, beginning at BOC in the 1980s, and that many industry representatives in Australasia and globally had benefited significantly from his guidance and advice.
“In the early 1990s, along with HVAC&R and industry leaders, Michael was instrumental in establishing Australia’s first refrigerant recovery, reclamation and destruction scheme; Refrigerant Reclaim Australia,” VASA said in a statement.
“He began managing the program on a consulting basis in early 1997. As the recovery program expanded and the destruction of recovered refrigerant increased rapidly, the need for full-time general manager was realised and Michael was appointed to the position in mid-2000.
“Since its commencement, the recovery program has grown from 50 tonnes per year to more than 500 tonnes today.
“With Michael at the helm of a dedicated board, steering perhaps the world’s most successful refrigerant stewardship program, RRA has received a number of prestigious awards including the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Montreal Protocol Implementation Award, and two awards from the United States of America Environmental Protection Agency, one being for stratospheric ozone protection, and the other for climate protection.”
VASA said that in addition to long-term efforts for RRA, Mr Bennett had also contributed to national and international initiatives.
He assisted the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with its publication, Extended Producer Responsibility: A Guidance Manual for Governments, and was the lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Technical and Economic Advisory Panel (TEAP) special report, Safeguarding the Ozone Layer and the Global Climate System.
The IPCC and TEAP authors were collectively awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
“Many Wire & Gas 2022 attendees may have been unaware before the awards ceremony that they shared the room with a Nobel Peace Prize winner,” said Mr Stangroome.
Mr Bennett has more recently stepped aside from his leadership role at RRA, remaining involved with specific projects and supporting his successor Kylie Farrelley. He also remains chair of the Australian Refrigeration Council board.
Presenting the award, Mr Stangroome said: “Under Michael’s leadership, our industry has had a strong voice for all matters relating to the handling of refrigerants. Michael and RRA have been the go-to point for any counsel relating to environmental compliance of refrigerants.”
Mr Bennett thanked Ian Stangroome for “amazing words, warmly received”.
“It has been absolutely my pleasure to be involved with VASA over all these years and the magnificent people who have been there. I can’t even begin to thank everyone individually as there’s far too many; they all know how fantastic and how wonderful they are.
“What a great industry, thank you all for being here and thank you for the award.”
The Legend Award was joined as a VASA awards category more than 20 years ago when the VASA board decided it should pay special recognition to those rare individuals who stand out in the crowd and deserve special recognition.
VASA, established in 1993, is a non-profit organisation representing the technicians, professional service centres, suppliers and original equipment manufacturers of the automotive air conditioning, electrical and thermal management industry in Australia and New Zealand.
By Neil Dowling
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