São Paulo, March 2021 – The leading foodtech in Latin America announced iFood Regenera, an ambitious positive environmental impact plan that aims to act on two main fronts: (I) end plastic pollution in its delivery operations and (II) become neutral in carbon emissions by 2025. To meet its goal, iFood has several initiatives, including investment in electric vehicles, research and development and sustainable packaging and in recycling cooperatives to expand its production capacity and improve the income of members.
“The pandemic presented us with new responsibilities. We needed to use our tools, our innovation potential, even more, and promote transformative solutions that reverse the socio-environmental impacts typical of a delivery operation”, says Gustavo Vitti, vice-president of People and Sustainable Solutions at iFood. “iFood Regenera arrived with the aim of going beyond eliminating plastic and neutralizing CO2, we want to return more to the environment than we consume”, adds the executive.
Plastic solutions
iFood solutions involve two main areas of action: avoiding the use of plastic and recycling what is circulating. The first step is to present solutions in the app to encourage consumers to have more sustainable habits, offering the choice of not receiving plastic cutlery and other disposable items. Also in the app, the company created a seal to recognize the good environmental practices of restaurants registered with iFood.
“These initiatives contribute to reducing the consumption of plastic items, which are often sent unsolicited and end up being thrown away unused. In the first tests we carried out, 90% of consumers used the resource, which resulted in the reduction of tens of thousands of cutlery and shows the user's desire to receive less waste in their homes”, explains the executive.
iFood Regenera also intends to focus efforts on developing and promoting packaging made from raw materials from renewable sources, such as paper. “We want to transform the entire plastic-free packaging supply chain in Brazil. Promoting the national chain, from production to marketing and logistics, thus offering a competitive price to industries that already exist but do not have the scale of production and demand”, comments the executive.
Innovation and investment in recycling cooperatives in the country will be central to achieving the company's commitment goals. Investments are planned to improve the structures and machinery of cooperatives. Furthermore, iFood will invest in the construction of a new semi-mechanized sorting center in São Paulo, which has the potential to increase recycling rates in the city and increase the income of cooperative members.
The company is already carrying out initiatives in this direction, such as the 'Já Fui Bag' project, which consists of reverse logistics and the correct disposal of thermal backpacks used by delivery people. “Since 2019, we have correctly disposed of more than 80 tons of these materials, in a “zero landfill” project model. Even though they are difficult to recycle materials, the bags still find new uses as market bags. Some of these bags are already being used in delivery orders, replacing plastic bags in markets in São Paulo”, informs Vitti.
Reduce CO2 and regenerate biomes
Through the iFood Regenera program, the company will measure, reduce and neutralize all gas emissions in the Greenhouse effect (GHG) of your business. The first step was to rely on the expertise of Moss.Earth, a carbon market technology company, which developed the GHG inventory. The document, whose base year is 2020, covers emission scopes 1, 2 and 3, that is, it also includes emissions from all deliveries of orders made last year.
In total, 128 thousand tons of CO2 equivalent were emitted and these emissions will be neutralized through investment in environmental preservation and reforestation projects. The initiative is a pioneer in the delivery sector in Brazil.
“We know that compensation alone is not enough. It is necessary to think of innovative ways to reduce CO2 emissions. In October last year, we launched the iFood Pedal, in partnership with Tembici, a project developed exclusively for delivery drivers that offers affordable plans for renting electric bikes. Currently, more than 2,000 couriers are registered and share 1,000 electric bikes in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, in addition to the educational nature of the initiative. With the good adherence indicators, our plan is to gradually expand the project, taking it to other cities and, thus, increasing our percentage of clean deliveries”, highlights the executive.
For 50% of orders to be delivered in non-polluting modes by 2025, another important partnership is with the automaker Voltz, a company specializing in electric motorcycles. The pilot project, which will begin in April, will feature 30 electric motorcycles that will be tested by delivery drivers and, after this period, the expectation is to reach more than 10 thousand motorcycles in the next 12 months. To encourage the use of the modal, iFood is developing partnerships to create a special line of credit for delivery partners.
In addition to creating several initiatives that positively impact society, iFood is also “looking at home”. The company's offices now make rational use of resources, reusing water and will have cleaner energy sources. It is also planned to create a green roof at the iFood headquarters in Osasco to distribute to surrounding communities. The garden's production capacity can reach around 1 ton monthly.
“We know we have a long way to go, but we trust that together with important partners and this set of initiatives, in addition to others that are under development, it will be possible to improve the scenario of plastic generation and the impact of CO2 on the environment. Our relevance and presence in the lives of Brazilian families further reinforces the importance of these environmental commitments for the planet”, concludes Vitti.
To find out more, visit: https://news.ifood.com.br/solucoes-sustentaveis
