What Are The Carbon Footprint And Environmental Cost Of Food Delivery Services?

Food delivery services gained a fast upward trajectory during the pandemic and are here to stay. The food delivery sector is currently valued at $126 billion and will continue to grow.

But this boom of the food delivery market isn’t a net positive.

Increased emissions from vehicles, non-sustainable packaging, and the excess food waste are a few of the environmental problems this industry poses. Carbon emissions from food delivery are projected to rise by 32% by 2022, which is around 6 million tons.

While consumers and restaurant owners have benefitted through delivery apps and services, with some efforts from both, the environmental impact can be reduced.

Take a look at how the food delivery industry affects the environment:

1. Environmental Waste: Non-sustainable packaging and increase in solid waste. The solid waste contributes to methane emissions.
2. Food waste: Deliveries with errors, excess portion sizes ordered and allowed to spoil. Despite being organic in nature, food waste impacts climate change.
3. Emissions: Transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing use of vehicles with increase in delivery popularity poses a huge environmental problem.

So the next time you order food, make an informed choice.

• Order from nearby restaurants. It is better that they have their own delivery service as local businesses tend to deliver in restricted range.
• Identify restaurants with sustainable and recyclable packaging, and refuse the cutlery items.
• Order multiple meals delivered at once rather than single-meal delivery services.

Green delivery practices business owners can implement:

1. Route optimization for drivers and increasing driving efficiency by delivering more than one order at a time.
2. Switching to recyclable takeout containers.
3. Reducing delivery hours.
4. Providing disposable utensils only on request.

About Urvara Krsi

Urvara Krsi promotes sustainable and environment-conscious cultivation of niche agricultural crops and agroforestry. We engage in the production & supply of high-quality planting stock and technology to farmers, and are a leading agricultural raw material provider to agro-based industries.

Incorporated in 2019, Urvara Krsi currently operates in four states of India: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. We have three (3) main Business verticals, viz. Commercial Agroforestry, Cultivation of Agricultural crops in contract farming models, and Agricultural Consultancy.

Through our B2B consultancy services, we cater to companies looking to enhance their farmer network, strengthen their R&D, and experiment with new crops and geographies by enabling clients to collaborate closely with local communities to identify new crops, launch pilot projects, and set up dedicated, cost-effective cultivation programs.

Urvara Krsi acts as the opportunity bridge between small-holder farmers and industrial buyers exploring new geographies with backward linkages through farmers’ networks.

To partner with Urvara Krsi, or to learn more about what we do, please Contact Us.