Zomato to introduce 100% plastic-neutral deliveries

Zomato, on Friday, said in a blog post that it is aiming to reduce use of plastic. The food delivery giant's CEO Deepinder Goyal said in the blog that they are introducing 100 per cent plastic neutral deliveries starting from April. 

“From now on, every meal you order through Zomato will be 100 per cent plastic neutral, which means we will voluntarily recycle more than 100 per cent of all plastic utilised in your order’s packaging,” he said.

Goyal said that the mission to reduce plastic from Earth will take a mammoth commitment. “But just talking about reducing plastic won’t reduce plastic in our world; our actions have to speak louder than words,” he said. The move to introduce 100 per cent plastic neutral deliveries will cost the company a “significant amount of money”, he said. “However, I strongly believe that what’s good for the planet is good for business. I also believe that profits happen when you do everything else right,” he said.

Goyal added that Zomato will use “cutting edge ISO-certified plastic waste management organisations who will partner with municipalities across India, to collect and responsibly process plastic waste”. 

He acknowledged that more work needs to be done to reduce plastic. Zomato will amp up its efforts to develop and promote sustainable packaging for all types of cuisines. 

“We are aiming to deliver 100+ million additional eco-friendly food delivery orders (orders in sustainable packaging) over the course of the next three years, by supporting our restaurant partners in switching to affordable and sustainable packaging alternatives,” he said. Zomato is working on various stakeholders on innovative solutions and models for the restaurant industry.

The company had launched ‘Climate Conscious Delivery’ last year and funded local environmental projects to offset carbon footprint of all its deliveries and packaging in India. The  ‘no cutlery required’ default option ensured that 74 per cent of all orders go without cutlery preventing tonnes of single-use plastic from reaching landfills. 

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