Easily accessible food delivery services have changed the life of millions of urbanites. Consumers are now able to order different types of food and beverages and have them delivered in a relatively short time.
On the other hand, the delivery service also creates new job opportunities, whether for driver-partners or small and medium culinary entrepreneurs. An example of this would be Indonesian super app Gojek’s GoFood delivery.
In the challenging context of the current pandemic, which is infecting more and more Indonesians with COVID-19 and requires people to conduct physical distancing and self-quarantine, with more people staying and working from home, the role of GoFood delivery has become more essential than ever, helping people order food from home.
In this critical situation, besides the frontline medical workers, GoFood delivery partners have also turned into everyday heroes. And yet, we also have to be mindful of the environmental and safety impacts of the delivery services: With the increasing number of online food delivery orders, not only will we use more single-use plastic but we also need to take health precautions for our partner-drivers and customers.
To address these two concerns, GoFood has come up with two solutions: The launch of the exclusive GoFood delivery bags and a contactless delivery service to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Let us start with the first concern addressed by GoFood, which concerns plastic waste. We know that, while most consumers now can choose not to receive the single-use plastic cutlery, single-use plastic packaging is more difficult to avoid.
In an effort to use less of such packaging as well as maintain the cleanliness and freshness of food delivered, Gojek has been providing its drivers with exclusive GoFood delivery bags as part of the company’s #GoGreener initiative. Gojek’s solution to enable its ecosystem to live in a more environmentally responsible manner was launched back in August 2019, making it the pioneer in the industry to champion environmental responsibility.
The exclusive GoFood delivery bag is the epitome of Gojek’s spirit in reducing single-use plastic usage
Single-use plastic packaging is not only a challenge for merchants, but also the Gojek drivers, who have to deliver the food or drinks to customers in a proper condition. On top of that, many favorite dishes like pizza come in big packaging that is not easy to carry around on a motorcycle.
To address the issue, Gojek designed its exclusive GoFood delivery bag to reduce single-use plastic usage and provide solutions for the challenge faced by merchants and driver-partners, dedicated and customised to the requirements of daily food delivery.
Gojek Vice President Corporate Affairs Food Ecosystem Rosel Lavina explained that the exclusive GoFood delivery bags have spacious, high-quality compartments for storing food and drinks and maintaining the products’ temperature, whether hot or cold, during the delivery process.
“These bags are water splash-proof and, most importantly, easily foldable and will be portable enough for our driver-partners to carry around on their motorcycles, thus helping our driver-partners still provide ample space for passengers [during GoRide services],” she continued.
By using more durable, medium-sized cloth delivery bags to contain food and drinks during the purchase, transport and delivery process, Gojek’s driver-partners can get by with fewer single-use plastic bags.
Gojek’s effort to mainstream the use of the exclusive delivery bag reflects its commitment to environment-friendly practices, involving one small step at a time.
Continuing last year’s distribution and education on drivers' role in becoming environmentally responsible in various cities, Gojek plans to distribute more exclusive GoFood delivery bags this year with 700 Jakarta driver-partners who have completed more than 10,000 GoFood orders as the kickoff.
The bags were distributed in early March during the driver-partner gathering – Kopdar – through which Gojek interacts directly with its driver-partners. Gojek used the gathering not only to improve its services by gathering feedback from the drivers but also to appreciate their achievements and their key role in growing together with Gojek.
“Our driver-partners definitely serve as one of our most important ecosystem buffers. Therefore, to show that we value what they do, we distribute the exclusive GoFood delivery bags,” Rosel added.
Gojek says that, by distributing the delivery bags to its high-achieving GoFood partners first, it also aims to help partners complete their orders in a more comfortable way – with the goal of preserving the Earth’s ecosystem together.
“With these bags, we would also like to encourage our driver-partners to be the frontline of our commitment to reduce single-use plastic usage,” Rosel continued.
GoFood had initiated joint actions with environmental organizations and administrations of different cities in an effort to facilitate environmentally responsible activities. Even before the company’s program was launched last year, Gojek had started to undertake real action to conserve the environment by distributing 2,500 tote bags made of recycled ad banners in Bali, as well as providing 10,000 tote bags in Bandung to its driver-partners, aligning with the mayor’s waste management program termed ‘Kang Pisman’.
Following the launch of #GoGreener and bag distributions in many cities, Gojek conducted training on being environmentally responsible for the drivers, in collaboration with WWF Indonesia and local governments - Departments of the Environment of Bandung, Semarang, Bali and Denpasar, including recent 2020 first batch of bag distribution in Jakarta.
All these efforts were a part of the #GoGreener campaign, launched in August 2018 in collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry to reduce the waste of single-use plastic bags.
Novrizal Tahar, IPM, Director of Waste Management, Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) said, "Gojek is a technology platform that has been part of people’s daily lives. Therefore, through this cooperation, KLHK and Gojek are committed to continuously encourage people to take an active role in preserving the environment from themselves to everyday lifestyles, through Gojek. The government continues to improve the policy for environmental protection and the society also has to join the cause, especially now it is easier with environmental friendly initiatives facilitated by Gojek’s technology [through GoFood].”
Gojek proactively takes safety measures in GoGood operations
The distribution of the exclusive GoFood delivery bags not only marks a significant contribution to environment preservation but also increases the safety of delivery service offered by GoFood. This is not the first safety measure taken by the biggest online food delivery service in the region, GoFood, as it has previously distributed safety seals to its merchants in 16 cities across Indonesia in ensuring food safety.
Safety is very much needed on a regular basis and especially in times like this with the COVID-19 pandemic spreading globally. Recently, Gojek also launched a contactless delivery service to enhance safety during the COVID-19 outbreak.
By giving customers an additional option in the quick message feature ‘to leave the food at the door/lobby’, the platform aims to minimize the risk of Coronavirus contagion and protect the Gojek ecosystem. The initiative launched earlier in March is also in line with the Indonesian government’s appeal for citizens to #stayathome and apply physical distancing.
"The safety and health of the entire Gojek ecosystem is our top priority. We are grateful to Gojek consumers who follow the nation’s #stayathome appeal and have the highest appreciation for our driver and merchant partners who remain alert in helping the Indonesian people carry out their regular activities in a time of crisis. We will continue to develop new initiatives and innovations that contribute to reducing the risk of the COVID-19 spread," said Catherine Hindra Sutjahyo, Gojek Chief Food Officer.
On top of that, GoFood as a food delivery service used by hundreds of thousands of people across the country took proactive measures to prevent the spread of Coronavirus through these steps:
- Increasing awareness about good hygiene among our driver partners and providing them with soap and hand sanitizer at Gojek’s driver operations offices, driver shelters and other driver community stations.
- Educating merchants on ensuring hygienic operations and food packaging.
- Issuing food safety and hygiene guidance to GoFood merchants recommending that they carry out regular employee temperature checks, record who cooks and packages food and ensure employees and driver partners wash their hands before handling food.
With these proactive measures, customers, merchants and driver-partners alike can maintain their safety while conducting essential day-to-day activities, such as preparing and ordering food and beverages, delivering daily supplies to help people stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
