Earth Day is a celebration of our planet and a reminder that we must take collective action to protect our environment. DoorDash’s mission is to empower local economies, and we have the opportunity to support merchants, Dashers and customers in the transition to a more sustainable future. Earlier this week, we released our 2021 Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) report with information about our carbon footprint and how we’re working to avoid, reduce and remove emissions. This Earth Day, we’re excited to share more details on efforts to broaden access to e-bikes and packaging alternatives.
Increasing Access to E-Bikes to Help Decrease Emissions
Improving the way goods are delivered is key to building a more sustainable future.
For Dashers in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Jersey, Chicago and Philadelphia, we’re partnering with Zoomo to make it easier to access e-bikes. For a limited time, Zoomo is offering e-bikes for free the first two weeks, waiving the starter fee, and covering the cost of theft protection for the first week. For Dashers in New York City and San Francisco, we’re also offering a “$30 for 30 deliveries” cash bonus for Dashers who deliver via bike or e-bike.
Relative to cars, e-bikes are less environmentally costly to manufacture and require less energy to power. Dashers delivering on e-bikes can make deliveries without getting stuck in traffic or circling the block looking for parking – often making bike delivery more efficient for the Dasher and the environment.
Our logistics technology identifies bike-friendly orders so that we can connect those opportunities with Dashers who deliver on bikes, which means we can maximize low-emission deliveries where it makes the most sense. Considering emissions factors provided by the EPA and the European Cyclist Federation, e-bikes generate 98% fewer emissions per mile than cars. We’re proud to share that in 2021, over one-third of Dashers in Japan and over half of couriers in Germany used bikes or e-bikes to deliver, and 100% of quick commerce deliveries in NYC were fulfilled via e-bikes.
“I’ve been an avid cyclist my entire life and I wanted to go do food delivery on my bike. For six months, I did it on a regular bicycle and the other bike messengers would joke with me and call my bike the Tank. It just looked so huge. It wasn’t about being small and sleek – it had to be more about how I’m going to deliver lots of food on it. After 6 months, I upgraded to an e-bike and that’s when the fun really began.” – David Lewis, e-bike Dasher
We’ve partnered with cycling organizations across the globe to launch programs to enhance Dasher safety, support more investment in infrastructure like protected bike lanes, and advance public policies designed to improve road safety and reduce the cost of e-bikes. We’re proud to work with the League of American Bicyclists in the U.S., the Amy Gillett Foundation in Australia, and HUB Cycling in Canada. Most recently, we’re supporting the California Bicycle Coalition in their advocacy for an additional $500 million in state funding for cities that implement complete bike networks – improving safety for bikers.
Beyond bikes, DoorDash is working to promote the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) to reduce emissions from delivery. We offer low-cost access to electric vehicles through a subscription leasing program in California, which also includes cash bonuses to Dashers. In partnership with Plug In America, we’re providing car dealers EV sales training and ongoing EV support in the San Francisco Bay Area so Dashers can better understand the benefits of EV ownership and have the best EV purchase experience possible. For Dashers, we’ll offer ride-and-drives and educational opportunities about the benefits of dashing using an EV.
More Environmentally-Friendly Packaging
Packaging is a byproduct of restaurant delivery and takeout, which is why we work to increase access to packaging alternatives for merchants and consumers. We’re proud to support merchants and promote the adoption of reusable containers, as well as recyclable and compostable packaging. Through partnerships with DeliverZero and Dispatch Goods, customers in New York City and San Francisco can order their meals in containers designed to be cleaned, returned, and reused for future orders. Making reusable containers accessible and convenient can reduce packaging waste and greenhouse gas emissions compared to disposable packaging. Additionally, in select markets, customers can forgo single-use cutlery through our utensil opt-in program.
Over the next year, we look forward to growing and evolving sustainability programs and partnerships.
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