We hear you, we need to do more. At Splendid Spoon we have always believed that plant-based eating is one of the most efficient ways to reverse climate change at an individual level. We treasure our role as a leader in a more plant-forward future, and we know that part of this role is also to achieve measurable improvements in our business’ overall carbon footprint – not just the number of plant-based meals you are loving, but the growing practices, the packaging materials, and our shipping standards. It would be easy to say – we’re going to do all of it! But the reality is, we are still a young business and we will need to focus on one thing at a time. Here’s our plan to keep improving:

1. Defining the impact of our food, one meal at a time: we will be identifying a partner to help us measure the impact of each meal, starting with our ingredients. How far have ingredients shipped? How much carbon goes into growing certain raw materials? Our pledge is to identify this partner, and define an ‘ingredient impact score’ for at least 25% of our meals by July 2022.

2. Packaging Packaging Packaging: So far, we've reduced our carbon foot print by moving from gel packs to dry ice, and moving to more efficient box sizes, reducing potential CO2e Emissions by 37.5% in 2021. We've also moved to a compostable insulation: by using ClimaCell instead of EPS coolers, we kept 5 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of EPS out of landfills in 2021. Now, we have our eyes set on plastic. We will not mince words: it has not been easy. We are kitchen-testing more eco-friendly materials (and fact-checking the many dubious claims), but we have not yet found anything that is as durable as our current packaging and genuinely good for the planet. We will not give up. This year, we will be hiring a full-time packaging expert to the team, and pledge to come back to you with a specific measurement of plastic reduction in October 2022.

3. Ingredient Sourcing: In 2019 we began working with a new quinoa supplier in Peru, Simpli, a minority-women-owned supplier. They are, in many ways, our ideal partner as their product is delicious, consistent, and grown with deep care and attention to the impact on the land. As we grow, we seek to increase the percentage of ingredients that can be defined and validated as Regenerative Organic Certified – the highest standard in the world for soil health and farmworker fairness. We pledge to define this percentage by October 2022.

Questions? We're here! Send us an email at hello@splendidspoon.com.