A unique material developed by a Shropshire company to keep chillers and freezers cold can save the same amount of carbon in a year as driving a family car up to 20,000 miles, according to new research.

The startling figures were revealed by SMI as part of a report into the effectiveness of Cold-Stop® curtains, which are made using thermal protection material Tempro® and are a revolutionary alternative to the old plastic strip curtains traditionally used in cold rooms and freezers.

Tempro is unchallenged in the marketplace for its thermal barrier effectiveness, with Cold-Stop® saving 25 per cent of the energy consumed in chilled conditions and a staggering 33 per cent in freezers.

Chairman of Sutton Maddock-based SMI, Brian Seymour, said the new carbon emission figures had been calculated to demonstrate how Cold-Stop® can improve customers' carbon footprint.

Mr Seymour said: "We have been able to show for some time how effective Cold-Stop® is in saving energy costs which is why we number the UK's leading supermarkets and many in Europe and across the world among our clients.

"We save millions of pounds a year for customers, but with the UK recently announcing the world's most ambitious carbon reduction plans, to cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2030 on 1990 levels, our customers also need to demonstrate how they are saving carbon.

"Our latest research not only confirmed what we know about Cold-Stop®'s efficiency capabilities, it also specifically calculated carbon savings. These figures have been independently verified by  Campden BRI, the UK's largest research facility for the food industry."

The figures, based on Cold-Stop® curtains in a range of sizes installed in a supermarket frozen food cold room, show an annual saving in carbon of between 2,075kg and 4,700kg.

Mr Seymour added: "These figures equates to the carbon emissions of an average family car travelling between 9,200 miles up to 20,860 miles - that's an astonishing amount of carbon not being released into the atmosphere simply by using SMI's Cold-Stop® as the thermal barrier.

"By the end of July, companies including supermarkets and other food retailers and logistics companies will be required to produce a report under the Government's Carbon Reduction Commitment.

"These figures will help our customers see in black and white what their energy and carbon savings are, and demonstrate without doubt how they are using the technology we have developed to help the environment.

"As well as the carbon saving figures, the research revealed how well the SMI curtains perform as a barrier between cold room areas and ambient warehouse areas. As a result, the evaporator in the freezer would have been working much more efficiently, therefore reducing the running costs."

The UK's supermarkets have highlighted reducing CO2 emissions as a main target for the next decade with the John Lewis Partnership, which owns 29 John Lewis shops and 226 Waitrose supermarkets in the UK, committing to reducing its absolute carbon emissions by 15 per cent by 2020.