Delivering a Green Future
This Earth Day, we encourage everyone to think about how we all affect the environment. At Starship Technologies, we’re proud to be at the forefront of sustainable mobility, pioneering battery-powered robots that are as good for the world as they are for business.
Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in our global operations, where we have made a significant impact on reducing CO2 emissions by reducing the number of cars and trucks traveling to and from major urban markets, and by giving US students a choice. opting for battery-powered robots over traditional food delivery systems.
To demonstrate our efforts, our robots have now covered more than 6 million kilometers, which is equivalent to 645 trips from the UK to Australia, or traveling from New York to LA more than 2,300 times, or 244 trips around the world . With our customers using battery-powered robots instead of cars, we have saved around 1.7 million kg of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere: the equivalent of a person flying an airplane for 6,792 hours.
But we don’t leave it at that. We are always looking for ways to make our operations more sustainable by reducing our environmental impact. Whenever possible, we provide renewable electricity to charge our robots, and we are now experimenting with different charging and transmission methods to increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption.
But sustainability isn’t just good for the environment – it’s good for business. Let’s get real here: businesses that are dragging their feet to change their operations to find sustainable solutions especially because of the concerns they get. According to a Research done by Mckinsey & Company in 2023, if we look at the last five years, products that claim environmental or cultural benefits saw an 8% increase compared to products that did not. Consumers care about sustainability and support it by changing their purchasing patterns to sustainable products. Finally, the report refers to “the ethical imperative, for consumers and companies, to understand and address these challenges for people and the world as part of purchases and actions related to ESG. The statements of companies – if they represent real and practical actions in terms of environment and culture – can be an important part of achieving this”.
At Starship, we are proud to help our partners achieve their goals and commitments to sustainability. Since last year, we have been partnering with delivery giants like Grubhub giving students across the United States the opportunity to serve their favorite foods in an environmentally friendly way, making their daily lives at school easier. It is a win-win for universities, students and, most importantly, the environment. Similarly, in cities around the world, we’re helping grocery partners strengthen their efforts to reduce carbon emissions by delivering on-demand, battery-powered products from store to door.
We are also passionate about inspiring others to take action to have a better future. The story of our employee, Andrew Tucker, is an example. Two years ago, Andrew and his wife donated their car to National Public Radio, as part of their car donation program. So he ditched the car he didn’t want, while he helped finance NPR to produce local broadcasts including Andrew’s few favorites like “Morning Edition”, “The World” and “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me”. For them, owning a car was an unnecessary topic, and giving it up is in line with their desire to live a green life. Andrew says that working at Starship helped motivate him: “I feel like my environmental beliefs are reflected in Starship’s goals… .”
We encourage everyone to take action to live more sustainably on Earth Day. Whether it’s giving up a car if you don’t need it, trying to be more frugal, reducing energy use, or simply choosing to walk or bike instead of driving, every little bit makes a difference. By working together, we can create a better future for ourselves and our planet.
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