Ahead of the inaugural DeliveryX World, held in London this Thursday 12 October 2023, speakers from Boden, Just Eat Takeaway.com and Matches sat down with DeliveryX to highlight what they will discuss at the one-day conference.
At 10:20am on Thursday, Robin Clark, senior director ESG & Sustainability, Just Eat Takeaway.com, will take delegates through the on-demand delivery firm’s efforts to clean up the industry.
Speaking to Katie Searles, Clark stressed that they are “committed to driving sustainability through the food delivery sector in a credible way and doing what we can to reduce the environmental impact of our business and wider network”.
He also described the food delivery company’s work to switch out single-use plastic.
“We know that there are still challenges in the sector and there is still a way to go in finding alternatives for the variety of different cuisine types. This is why we believe the focus should be on testing and funding credible solutions for all types of cuisines – this will enable startups to scale, driving investment in innovative solutions resulting in more sustainable solutions that will cater to consumer needs,” said Clark. Read the full interview here.
Also discussing sustainability is Ben Dreyer, strategy, sustainability and operations director at Boden, he hopes to highlight how the British clothing retailer is putting its sustainability achievements “front and centre”.
He stressed that to be a good sustainable brand, Boden must design and create pieces that can be worn hundreds of times. He explained that the UK has an issue with how little each garment is worn. He estimated that UK consumers wear items between eight to 10 times maximum, which is adding to the huge amount of clothing sent to landfill – 93 million tonnes worldwide.
Dreyer proposed that the “real cost” of a garment should be calculated by dividing the price by the number of times worn.
“If you buy something for a tenner, you wear it twice and throw it away that costs you £5 every time you wear it. Buy something for £50, wear it 100 times, that’ll cost you 50p – that is the real cost!”
While Caroline Whitley, fulfilment director of luxury fashion retailer Matches, will focus on the good women can do in this industry. Joining the Creating A Benchmark – Women In Supply Chain panel, Whitley will discuss how far the industry has come, and why women have been key in shaping a positive environment.
She noted: “Earlier in my career, I was reticent to talk about my daughter, or just generally anything that made me human, because I didn’t want any assumptions made about how far I could progress or how competent I was going to be.
“It’s horrible to think people could still feel like that. Someone’s unique circumstances influence how you can support them, that is not just for encouraging women to succeed, it is for everyone.”
Registration for Just Eat, Boden and Matches presentations remains open! See the full agenda, and event information here.
