Imperfect Foods to be Net Zero by Focusing on Waste Elimination and Renewable Energy

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Grocery delivery company Imperfect Foods has committed to becoming a net zero business by 2030. To accomplish this, the company will focus on waste elimination, renewable energy, and operational efficiency.

In 2020, Imperfect Foods' last-mile delivery emitted 12,800 fewer tons of CO2 than trips to traditional grocery stores, purchased 7,921 tons of post-consumer recycled packaging, and saved 52,263,090 pounds of food. With this announcement, the brand says it is broadening its sustainability commitment, looking beyond sourcing to ensure each internal process ladders up to an operationally net-zero carbon business model. Key steps in Imperfect Foods' net-zero carbon emissions commitment include:

• Waste Elimination: Imperfect Foods is working to mitigate waste at every point of its business. In addition to furthering its mission to rescue one billion pounds of food by 2030, the brand will have its first facility certified zero-waste-to-landfill operational by 2022 with a total of six certified zero-waste-to-landfill facilities in operation three years later.
• Renewable Energy: Imperfect Foods is working toward converting all six of its fulfillment centers to 100% renewable power by 2026. Last year, the company began this transition, successfully converting their largest fulfillment center in Los Angeles to be entirely solar powered. This mission extends beyond fulfillment centers, with the goal of having a fully electric vehicle fleet by 2027.
• Operational Efficiency: By 2022, Imperfect Foods will increase and improve its regional sourcing by 15% to reduce the number of trucks on the road moving food, continuing to deliver orders once a week to each zip code they serve to limit carbon emissions.

Imperfect Foods partnered with Watershed, a climate software platform, to measure the company's carbon footprint so it can pinpoint exactly which parts of the business emits greenhouse gases and from there, redesigned the business operations to reach its goal.

There has been an increased call to action in response to the soon-to-be insurmountable threat that the waste and energy use of the food industry poses to the environment. The food system accounts for 24% of global greenhouse gas emissions.