Recipe box company HelloFresh has announced its commitment to science-based emissions reductions targets within its 2022 non-financial report, outlining plans for further reducing carbon emissions and food waste by 2025.
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a global body enabling businesses to set emission reductions targets in line with the latest climate science. HelloFresh will develop and validate its targets within the two-year time frame allocated to this process.
In the UK, HelloFresh has already demonstrated its commitment to reducing its CO2 emissions, most recently announcing the trial launch of its own delivery fleet. The trial will reduce environmental impact by using its own refrigerated vehicles and reducing the need for insulating packaging. The fleet will also reduce van miles by removing its current third-party delivery partners, allowing meal-kits to go straight from distribution centres to customer doorsteps.
As part of its carbon reduction plan, HelloFresh will optimise its delivery routes based on the lowest fuel consumption and will use electric vehicles (EVs) powered by renewable energy – where it owns the outbound logistics fleet.
HelloFresh added insourcing logistics allows for direct control over deliveries and has numerous sustainability benefits such as packaging reduction. In terms of carbon emissions accounting, insourcing logistics shifts delivery emissions from Scope 3 to Scope 1 or 2.
It’s not just delivery where sustainability is at the heart of operations, but also at its distribution centres. HelloFresh’s newest site, The Orchard, features a sustainable water-cooling system and the installation of EV charging points for employees, with these features supporting HelloFresh’s goal of reducing emissions in its distribution centres.
Reducing food waste continues to be an integral part of HelloFresh’s sustainability targets/ambition. In 2022, more than 12,040 tonnes of unsold edible food was donated to charities. HelloFresh UK continues to work with organisations such as the Felix Project to ensure communities in the surrounding areas of its distribution centres receive surplus food supply.
Adam Park, UK CEO at HelloFresh, said: “We recognise the important contribution we can and must make in driving sustainable progress on environmental and social issues. Setting ourselves science-based targets means we are committed to doing our part for the environment to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees or less, which marks a big milestone for HelloFresh.”
