“No tableware” Orders Reach 1.3 Billion on Ele.me, Driven by Carbon Emission Reduction Advocation

The orders with the “No tableware” option have reached 1.3 billion on Ele.me, according to its president Yongxin Fang. It is equivalent to reducing the use of more than 6,000 tons of wood and more than 3,000 tons of plastic.

Ele.me, Alibaba-backed food delivery platform, launched the “no tableware” option for consumers in 2017, reducing the use of disposable plastic and wood.

“No tableware” option is only a small portion of what Ele.me to respond to China’s policy on climate change.

During his attendance of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from November 11 to 12, Fang, the president of Ele.me, introduced the practice of carbon emission reduction for merchants, consumers and logistics and expressed the hope that through technological innovation and product operation, 100 million people will be driven to develop a habit of green ordering every year.

In practice, Ele.me started to promote carbon reduction in three aspects, namely, plastic usage reduction on the consumer side, food waste reduction on the merchant side and green distribution at the logistics side.

Ele.me has also explored the green management of plastic lunch boxes. It has formulated the take-away packaging standard with the China Packaging Federation, provided merchants with green design guidelines and procurement channels, and tried to recycle lunch boxes and plastic bottles. This year, besides making recycled PET beverage bottles into small backpacks, Ele.me transformed them into delivery drivers’ clothes.

Following the pursuit of anti-food waste in China, Ele.me actively encouraged merchants to provide meals for consumers who prefer eating alone, and developed the industry’s first carbon calculation standard for reducing food waste together with All-China Environment Federation.

To achieve green logistics, Ele.me shortens the distance for delivery drivers by more than 20%. If users are willing to wait longer, riders can distribute several orders together, thus improving distribution efficiency.

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“According to the ‘Scope 3 +’ carbon neutral goal put forward by Alibaba, we always work closely with government departments and professional institutions to drive ecological partners to jointly reduce carbon,” Fang concluded. “In the future, we will further facilitate carbon reduction technology and business model for merchants and consumers, as well as develop carbon reduction calculation standards.”