The Nature Imperative: How the circular economy tackles biodiversity loss
Published September 2021
In order to tackle the ubiquity of single-use packaging in food products, Kecipir has developed an online platform to locally deliver fresh fruit and vegetables, connecting farmers directly with urban consumers through a fully reusable, circular delivery system. Produce is first harvested on-demand through an app-based platform that ensures freshness and best quality, enhancing the user experience for consumers. Then, Kecipir helps deliver the produce directly from the farmer to the consumer in reusable crates. Reduced transport distances and a smaller number of parties involved makes the model economically effective. Kecipir’s platform is price competitive as produce can be up to 50% cheaper than supermarket produce, making the model accessible to a wide range of consumers.
Biodiversity benefits
Between 2016 and 2019, Kecipir operations eliminated 6 tonnes of low quality, single-use plastics (like plastic bags and styrofoam trays). If Kecipir was to capture just 1% of the Indonesian market, they estimate 4,400 tons (~3990 tonnes) of single-use plastic leakage into the ocean would be avoided on an annual basis. In 2019, the model was also estimated to reduce the amount of food wasted by 132 tonnes per year, as products are delivered locally, directly after being harvested. Other threats to biodiversity that are minimised thanks to their circular business model include a reduction in transport emissions, as products travel a maximum of 60 km, and the avoidance of refrigeration-related emissions, as delivery time is less than 24 hours from farmer to consumer.
