We thought about it for a long time: How can the shipping of our beers be made sustainable? We came to the conclusion that there are two things we can work on: sending our packages carbon-free and limiting waste as much as possible.
Regarding the first one, we have taken the initiative to offset the CO2 associated with sending the packages. We could leave that to the couriers, but unfortunately they are not yet ready to compensate for all CO2. After doing a calculation (on the back of a cigar box) we quickly found that if we could plant one tree per order we would offset more than enough CO2 to ship your package. One tree offers 314 kg of CO2 absorption*, while shipping a package is between 260 and 530 grams per package** (depending on the shipping method).
We therefore compensate for the CO2 of sending our packages multiple times. But does that mean that we will plant trees ourselves every month? We don't do that (yet). We have engaged an organization to help us with this. We looked for a reputable organization and found it in Trees for the Future. This organization has been committed to planting more trees for more than 30 years and they have now planted 220 million trees. And they don't just do that randomly, but very cleverly. For example, they plant trees around a piece of agricultural land that has become unusable because all nutrients have disappeared from the soil. By planting trees around it, the agricultural land becomes usable again and the local population has also been helped on their way. More than 58 thousand fields have already been restored by this organization.
Another important sustainability aspect for our shop is that products sometimes reach their sell-by date. And because we only want to sell delicious beers, we get them from the web shop. But having to throw away those bottles and cans, which are almost always Yummy at that moment, would hurt us. That's why we partnered with To Good To Go. As soon as we have beers that are approaching their sell-by date, or if a can or bottle is damaged, we offer them at a reduced price on the To Good To Go app. And our experience shows that the beers always get a good final destination.
If you have any questions about this blog or have ideas on how we can deal with sustainability even better, please let us know and send an email to info@ondernulpuntvijf.com. You can also find more information on our website.
*According to Trees for the Future, a tree removes an average of 15.7 kg of CO2 from the air per year. Assuming a very conservative lifespan of 20 years per tree, this means that a tree absorbs an average of 314 kg of CO2.
**Source: Research by EY in collaboration with Thuiswinkel.org (Link)
