Responsibility at Foodora
We live in a world where services run around the clock, so you no longer need to wait over the weekend. We want to contribute to this development by creating services in Finland that will make everyday life much easier, and we plan to do so responsibly.
The business we conduct should benefit all parties, including consumers, restaurants, couriers, and us as a company. Our company's corporate responsibility is an ongoing process, and we see it as our responsibility to find new and better ways to work for the well-being of our society and environment.
Reducing food waste
Even though food waste has a relatively low impact on climate, we are proud to say that Foodora Markets produce almost no food waste.
When needed, we sell Zero Food Waste bags at Foodora Markets, where we collect products close to their expiration date. In addition, we provide discounts to regulate the number of products. All remaining edible products will be donated to charity. As a result, we can minimize the number of products that are not suitable for sale.
Therefore, Foodora Markets produce very little food waste. In most cases, only an accidental human error or a technical failure can result in food waste.
More environmentally friendly packaging
Offsetting GHG emissions is an excellent tool, but we also aim to actively reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our operations. Packaging is our second-largest source of emissions, and we are constantly in search of more environmentally friendly packaging materials to reduce emissions produced by our packaging.
Since 2019, only biodegradable packaging has been used in our concept restaurants. Our packaging is made of PLA (Polylactic Acid) plastic, made from maize starch or sugar cane, and cellulose, which is a by-product of the sugar cane industry. Read more about our packaging here.
Our impact on society
The platform industry is a major and growing employer and has great economic importance. Delivery services employ thousands of couriers in Finland, and the amount of work offered is only growing. According to a study published by Copenhagen Economics, about 75 thousand couriers in EU area would lose the opportunity to earn a living and as a result, up to 800 million euros of taxable income would be lost if the opportunity for a flexible partnership were denied.
The indirect effects of the platform industry are also significant. For example, during the worldwide pandemic, ordering and delivery services have allowed many restaurants to continue their service. Our platform brings visibility to restaurants and through that, new customers and more turnover.
Delivery Partners
As delivery partners are an important part of our business, it is important for us to develop the conditions for the delivery partners. One of our core values is that everyone deserves a chance to make a living, regardless of their background or life situation.
Thanks to freelance partnerships, becoming a delivery partner is possible for anyone, without any selection criteria. Including those who face challenges in employment, such as immigrants without Finnish language skills. As many as 85% of our delivery partners have a foreign background, and the community formed by our delivery partners helps people with a foreign background to integrate into Finnish society.
Our delivery partner model has provoked a conversation, and having an active dialogue with other parties is important to us. Since the conversation is about our delivery partners, we asked them directly about their experiences.
According to our survey, about 75% of our delivery partners are satisfied with the current approach, and would prefer a partnership and freedom to decide on their schedules, rather than employment and pre-defined shifts. It is also important to consult those who want to preserve their freedom and act as independent actors. Full autonomy allows our delivery partners to plan their schedules around things that are more important to them, such as family, school, and hobbies, but also allows them to take extra shifts at any time.
Due to the flexibility, the freelance model is particularly in favor of those seeking additional earnings, such as students and part-time workers who are unable to commit to certain hours. The average fee for our courier partners is about 16€ / h, which is more than you earn in most low-demand jobs.
Charity
Our platform reaches many people every day, and here we saw an opportunity for something good. That’s why we added a feature to our app that makes donating to charity easy. In this way, we enable our customers to donate at a low threshold. There is strength in the crowd, and even a small donation will help.
You will find the donation function in the context of the ordering process when it is active.