Symbolized by our iconic electric delivery fleet, our sustainability commitment has been part of Picnic since day 1. In honor of World Environment Day, we shed a light on our âgreenâ practices, challenges, and what the future holds.
World Environment Day is a global mark on the calendar to remind us just how dependent we are on the environment around us to sustain business activity, and the responsibility we have to limit our physical impact and do no harm. Today, we reflect on Picnicâs commitment to sustainability, the challenges ahead, and the importance of collaboration to achieve common goals.
Driving change from day 1
Picnic was founded to offer a âsmart, clean, and greenâ way to do groceries. When setting up the company in 2015, we asked ourselves whether the current supermarket model was fit for the changing natural environment and lifestyles. We wanted to develop an operational model in which sustainability was centralâââthe modern milkman who uses resources smartly and cuts out unnecessary waste.
Early on we made design choices to imprint sustainability foundations in our business model. Our online-only purchase model means we have unmatched data analytics capability in the industry. We know exactly how many customers are shopping with us which enables us to better match supply to demand and minimise food waste. Our delivery proposition replaces individual trips to the supermarketâââwith one electric delivery, we replace about 24 individual trips to the store. And of course, we have opted for an all-electric last-mile fleet to ensure we donât pollute the environment during deliveries. No matter how much we scale, these sustainability âchecks and balancesâ ensure we donât consume, waste, and pollute unnecessarily. As you see, Picnic is a unique example of a company whose purpose and business model help prevent or at least minimise environmental problems while still running a profitable business.
Beyond these fundamentals, we continually innovate to improve the sustainability performance of our business. We run a closed-loop recycling system for our plastic bags, several programmes to avoid wasting food products that are approaching their selling date, and we highlight vegetarian and vegan products and alternatives in our Store.
Keeping track
However, sustainability work is never really done and thereâs still much to improve. Last year we took a wider look at our value chain and how we contribute to impacts. We measured our full carbon footprint, Scope 1, 2, and 3, to identify energy and emissionsâ hot spots, looked at the ratio of plant-based products compared to animal-based products, and started the work to better understand where the food that we sell comes from.
We realised that even though we were running an all-electric last-mile fleet, we were still powering the vehicles with energy from non-renewable sources. To fix that, we switched to 100% renewable energy supply for electricity. We also saw that most of our environmental footprint sits with the food we sellâââthe resources it takes to grow and transport the food, and the related emissions and waste from packaging and food loss. This is a very big topic to tackle, and one where we need suppliers and customers alike to transition to a better food system. For example, we assessed our full assortment for âoutliersââââthe products that have a disproportionately high environmental footprint to their margin. Beef and dairy showed up high on the charts. We have alternative products for these categories, but we donât know how many of our customers would actually shift their diets and preferences toward these products. Right now we are developing an approach to nudge customers to these products but we need your insights to help us find an effective way forward. Expect more communication from us in the coming months!
Tackling challenges
We are taking many more steps to further reduce environmental impacts, but as with everythingâââthe road to impact is not a straight line. For example, we have partnered with a solar energy company to install on-site solar energy generation, but we are limited by the gridâs capacity to take back generated electricity. Or take Picnicâs closed loop system to recycle plastic bagsâââfood safety regulations require that bags carrying food have three layers of plastic to protect the consumer from any contamination, but recycling facilities can only recycle two layers at max. These are just a few examples of challenges that we can only overcome in collaboration with others.
The road ahead
World Environment Day is a reminder that sustainability is everyoneâs jobâââtoday and every day. It presents an incredible opportunity to innovate, question the status quo, and re-imagine whatâs possible. We began this journey in 2015, and we are ever more committed to working with our partners, suppliers, and customers to make âsmart, green, and cleanâ grocery shopping commonplace.
