Visa and Uber invest US$1M in small restaurants to shift toward reduced packaging waste

16 Jan 2023 --- Uber and Visa are announcing a new program to support small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) transitioning to environmentally sustainable packaging solutions. This program is part of a broader year-long effort to help SMBs who use Uber Eats to grow their enterprises.

“With consumers continuing to express desires to live more sustainably, businesses across sectors have a notable opportunity to adopt more sustainable practices to meet this demand. Visa [will be] expanding on our partnership with Uber Eats to help small businesses not be left out of the sustainable business transformations this moment requires,” says Douglas Sabo, chief sustainability officer at Visa.

The companies will make US$1 million accessible to qualifying Uber Eats restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Madrid to fund greener packaging for their businesses.

“Single-use packaging is used in nearly every takeout order worldwide. With Visa and our restaurant partners, we can work toward reducing waste and helping small businesses thrive,” adds Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, SVP and global head of delivery for Uber.

Easing plastic-reduction
Uber and Visa have launched this new initiative in Davos, Switzerland. The two companies highlight the impact of their 2022 Grants for Growth program that supported US small business owners still recovering from the pandemic and other unexpected events such as natural disasters.

Visa and Uber invest in small and medium-sized businesses to ease the transition to eco-friendly packaging.Merchants received microgrants of US$10,000 used for payroll, paying outstanding debt to vendors, upgrading payment technology infrastructure and other immediate operational costs.

A 2022 study by the US National Restaurant Association indicates that while the transition to sustainable packaging is a priority to many restaurants, the cost – and continued supply chain issues faced by the hospitality industry – make it difficult. Uber Eats and Visa aim to mitigate some of those challenges with their new program.

“Building on the success of our shared support for small and medium-sized businesses, [we are] turning our efforts with Visa toward how we can help restaurant owners reduce packaging waste and contribute to the fight against climate change,” continues Gore-Coty.

Toward net-zero
Details of the new partnership, including how restaurants can qualify and apply for funding, will be shared on the Uber Eats for Merchants online site in the coming months.

In 2020, Visa achieved carbon neutrality and transitioned to 100% renewable electricity across its operations. Both Uber and Visa have committed to reach net-zero emissions by 2040.

Restaurants push greener solutions
Last month, German scaleup company Vytal leveraged digital technology and AI to overcome difficulties in the reusable packaging sector. The program rents out containers to F&B suppliers on a pay-per-use basis. From January 1, 2023, gastronomists in Germany are now obligated to offer reusables as an alternative to disposable packaging for take-out and delivery food.

Just Eat for Business also expanded its partnership with ClubZerø by implementing a returnable packaging system across London, UK, to tackle single-use waste originating from the foodservice packaging industry. The plan was created to provide a zero-waste experience through a convenient packaging return scheme in over 15 restaurants and cafes in London and surrounding areas to offer reusable takeaway cups and containers to businesses.

Additionally, British online food service company Deliveroo announced a £2.5 million (US$2.8 million) investment to subsidize the cost of more environmentally sustainable packaging and to encourage restaurant partners to move away from more polluting options. The company stated the investment could save around 403 metric tons of plastic annually – approximately 25 trucks worth of packaging waste.

Edited By Sabine Waldeck

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