Assessing CO 2 Emissions of Online Food Delivery in Japan

Xujie Hu, Chen Liu (), Qiannan Zhuo () and Dami Moon
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Xujie Hu: Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, 5322 Endo, Fujisawa 252-0882, Japan
Chen Liu: Sustainable Consumption and Production Area, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, 2108-11 Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama 240-0115, Japan
Qiannan Zhuo: Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, 5322 Endo, Fujisawa 252-0882, Japan
Dami Moon: Department of Urban Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 10, 1-17

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown of cities have led to the rapid growth of online food delivery (OFD). Moreover, there are concerns that OFD platforms may impose offers on users in order to continue to increase their market share, leading to numerous environmental issues such as overconsumption and a significant increase in plastic packaging waste. Most studies have focused on the environmental impacts associated with food packaging and have been mostly limited to China. However, less research has been carried out on the overall CO 2 emissions of an OFD order including food. In this study, the CO 2 emissions of an OFD order were assessed by considering the production, distribution, consumption and disposal of the ingredients, based on lifecycle thinking and existing secondary data, for three representative food groups (Western food, Japanese food and Chinese food) in Japan. This study found that the food production of an OFD order accounts for more than 70% of the CO 2 emissions of the entire process, especially food ingredient production. Policy support and initiatives such as OFD platforms being able to serve different quantities of food based on actual consumer demand to avoid food waste, as well as changes in delivery methods, would help reduce the CO 2 emissions of OFD.

Keywords: online food delivery; life cycle thinking; CO 2 emissions; Japan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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