Once upon a time, many years ago, a famous frog declared, “It’s not easy being green.” Little did he know then, that in the decades that followed ‘being green’ would grow into meaning so much more. Today, ‘being green’ is easier than ever. Simply by making environmentally friendly decisions to reduce, reuse and recycle, while ensuring that the products we use are sustainable, we can all help make the globe a little greener.
Luckily, more and more businesses recognize the need to protect our planet and are eager to provide customers with products and solutions that are making a positive impact. Branded partners, and purpose-driven companies Copia and Dispatch Goods have built their brands around a mission to make the world a better, and greener place.
Waste Less, Feed More.
Copia utilizes technology that allows businesses to safely and efficiently donate excess food and ingredients to feed people in need.
Operators are able to sign up and use the Copia platform easily. Kimberly Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Copia, shares, “It should take no more than three minutes of your team’s time to be able to track your waste for the day or submit a donation. Our matching algorithm tells us exactly where your donation should go, to the local nonprofit that’s most in need of that food. It not only finds a home but the right one.”
In addition to helping out the community and the environment, operators receive other advantages from Copia as well, including providing the business with audit-proof donation receipts and tax deduction dashboards. Copia helps to reduce waste and carbon emissions while getting perfectly edible food into the bellies of those in need instead of landfills. Copia’s partners cannot help but express their gratitude for the company they are making a difference for both communities and the environment.
“Copia has helped us develop a process that is doable, manageable, and most importantly replicable day after day. Copia has helped us make a positive impact on many fronts; food waste reduction, donating food to our communities, as well as the positive environmental impact of reducing greenhouse gases and water conservation.” -Jack Breezee, Valley Area Regional Director Food and Nutrition Services at Sutter Health
“Copia is a no-brainer. This is the solution Compass has been waiting for. We can save money, save the environment, and feed hungry people. Plus our client loves us for it. Working with Copia just makes business sense.” -Robert Williamson, District Manager at Compass Group
“Bon Appetit feels proud knowing that our surplus feeds the community and no food is being wasted in our kitchen. Copia’s partnership is amazing, and is great for employee retention and morale.” -Matt Hayes, Cafe Chef at Bon Appetit
“Copia and their technology platform have been a great success for us. Our new program has helped us capture significantly more excess food, while also helping to reduce food waste in the first place and all while giving us unparalleled visibility into our donation metrics and indicators. The biggest improvement though has been the ease of use for our staff, who have embraced the new program and its more efficient and effective design from the moment we rolled it out.” -The Cheesecake Factory
Better Packaging. More Customers. Happier Planet.
Dispatch Goods CEO and cofounder, Lindsey Hoell was inspired to begin her reusable packaging company after spotting something troubling in the sand during a surfing trip while living in Hawaii.
Hoell says, “We were in Kauai hiking to a pretty remote surf break, and when we got to the beach it looked like the sand was rainbow,” she says. “When I got closer, I realized it was microplastics. It was a really devastating moment. I realized we really needed to turn the faucet off in terms of creating plastics and pumping them out to consumers because they are making their way back to our shorelines.”
Dispatch Goods is a reusable container marketplace that partners with restaurants, businesses, and consumers to provide reusable container options to enable brick-and-mortar businesses to enable reuse. The idea at the core of Dispatch Goods is to offer restaurants and other businesses a platform that they can easily plug into to swap their single-use products with sustainable, reusable alternatives.
Dispatch Goods’ inventory profile began with mostly steel and glass products, and initially, the majority of Dispatch Goods’ partners were full-service concepts, however, the brand is working towards a focus on QSR and fast-casual restaurant partners with new packaging that the company plans to introduce later this year. This product is made of lightweight polypropylene specially tailored to fast-casual environments in its ability to nest and quickly separate from a stack. Dispatch Goods customers are loving what the brand is doing for them and the environment.
“We absolutely love working with Dispatch Goods. It is such a win for everyone our guests really appreciate the reusable option and we really appreciate reducing our environmental footprint.” – Leslie Silverglide CEO/Owner MIXT and Split.
“Working with Dispatch has enabled us to create and stand up our packaging return program the first nationwide, packaging reuse and recycling service offered from their doorsteps quickly efficiently and always smiling.” – Rose Hartley, Sustainability Manager at Imperfect Foods.
Dispatch Goods continues to prevent waste from going into landfills. Their innovative packaging has prevented 1,823,664 single-use items from entering waste streams since 2020!
Studies show that there is a rise in eco-friendly consumers. 75% of US consumers surveyed are concerned about the environmental impact of the products they buy, and 88% of consumers want brands to help them live sustainably.
For companies, going green not only helps the planet but it can also benefit their business’s bottom line. Healthy companies, happy customers, and a healing planet. Maybe it’s not, not so easy being green after all.