Our pick of the freshest apps to drive sustainability

Orderly’s solutions influence responsibility in enterprise supply chains – generating long-term sustainability and economic value. We say that we are more than just a food and beverage technology company and that we are a powerful advocate for social and environmental responsibility in all areas.

One point that comes up time and time again when we meet with businesses and discuss ways to decrease food waste or come up with solutions to increase sustainability is that as businesses, we can make these positive steps with the right directive and the right tech. (Orderly is designed to do just this!) At the same time, governmental and legislative changes will slowly take us closer to where we need to be to mitigate the damaging effects on the planet, especially in a post- COVID landscape.

The area that is harder to control is other people. We know that small incremental changes stack up. How can we raise awareness and engage other people in their daily lives?

Tech is the key

 

We believe that technology is a vital tool for influencing responsibility. The success of our own Orderly scorecard in how it can help change human behaviour in business, by giving each user three things they are doing well to increase sustainability, two things they can improve upon and one score out of five is how easy the tips are to adopt.

The great news is many other amazing businesses are already in this space on the consumer side, and there are a whole host of apps to support anyone on their journey into sustainability.

We downloaded and tested a wide range, in order to give you a heads up to some of the best apps that can help get anyone started on a journey of sustainability.

My Little Plastic Footprint

 

Did you know that more than 80% of the plastic pollution in the oceans comes from land and that we throw away half of all the plastic that we use in a day within 20 minutes? These are just some of the things this app focuses on.

The team behind this app is the Plastic Soup Foundation, an NGO based in Amsterdam leading the worldwide campaign “Beat the Microbead” as well as the Ocean Recovery Alliance. With the aim to get you on a ‘plastic diet’ you can choose an area of your home to focus on. Take the plastic mass index calculator and see your pollution contribution. As well as a quiz with which you learn everything related to plastic users can also follow more than 100 tips to reduce their plastic footprint. t’s a great one to get environmental issues at the front of your mind.

Kuri

 

27% of greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to what we eat. Our eating habits are also the number one driver of deforestation. Part of the reason for a lot of waste is in what we choose to consume. We’ve all become used to strawberries in November and a year-round abundance of foods. It’s safe to say that many younger generations will not have seen the concept of seasonal food in action. This sustainable cooking app, Kuri aims to change that and helps you cook with what you have in your fridge and encourages you to eat in line with a seasonal calendar. With simple graphics showing the mitigation of carbon in metric tons, as well as a sustainability rating score, it’s like the Orderly scorecard but for consumers!

To add even more value, each recipe you cook from the Kuri app means they plant a tree. Feedback from our team has been that even for novice cooks, this hit the mark.

Giki Badges

 

Why support a brand financially if we don’t agree with their social and environmental values?  A 2019 survey led by Hotwire found that 47% of internet users worldwide had ditched products and services from a brand that violated their personal values. Protecting the environment topped that list.

Knowledge is power, as they say , and this is one app that supports that quest for knowledge in a simple fashion.  Launched in 2018, Giki Badges lets you scan thousands of UK supermarkets against values such as palm oil, avoidance of toxic chemicals, animal welfare or climate change and see which products are having an impact. The idea is to create small changes that will result in more sustainable choices in areas such as food, cleaning items, toiletries and cosmetics. Our findings where that it was easy to use and had a really detailed spread of items, alternatives and information. A must have.

Good on you

 

Fashion accounts for around 10% of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity

And it’s an area that many are concerned about. But where do you begin? Ethical fashion app Good on you gives over 2000 brand ratings and aligns each with a star rating. If a brand chooses to withhold information about its ethical practices, it gets a lower score and there are some surprises – from the good ratings for adidas and lower scores from brands like Whistles and Louis Vuitton.

Whilst fast fashion is unlikely to go away, this app lets you consciously shop with the brands that best align with your values.. An estimated 92 million tons of textile waste is created annually from the fashion industry and £2.7bn is spent on outfits that are worn just once before being thrown out, so this is one area that needs addressing and this app is a great starting point before you hit the shops.

 

Ailuna

 

Designed as a personal lifestyle training app for sustainability that can kickstart someone, the aim of the app is to use knowledge from behavioural science to set green goals, embrace the low-waste and low-carbon habits needed to achieve them, and track the positive impact you’re having on the planet. This focuses on challenges and ‘dares’ that you give to friends and family or accept from others. Building habits such as a’ week without single use cups’ or changing to a shampoo bar are small steps, and this makes it all feel very achievable, changing one habit at time while the emphasis on community and sharing tips makes it feel like a great starting point for someone new on their journey.

Kitche

 

Kitche lets users scan supermarket receipts or upload online receipts to keep a track of purchased food. Combined with a recipe bank, it will help you to plan meals based on the food purchased alongside food you already have in storage and also alerts you to items nearing their expiry dates. A really great concept that will get everyone thinking about food waste. If you struggle with vegetables dying in the salad drawer of your fridge, this is certainly worth a download. According to Green Facts, vegetables are the major contributors to the economic cost of food lost and wasted (23% of total cost), followed by meat (21%), fruits (19%) and cereals (18%).

Olio

 

Upcycling at the source and food redistribution aren’t new concepts, ad many not for profits have been aiming to tackle the two-fold issue of food waste and food scarcity by encouraging individuals and corporations to donate excess produce for redistribution.

However,  the space has been crying out for an app that sits at the consumer side and makes it easy to ensure that no food is wasted during a busy working week.

Olio has slotted in perfectly and helps to connect neighbours and local retailers so surplus food can be shared and not wasted. Whether it’s home-made food items that are being sold or purchased, or if you want to give away spare food, it’s all possible, and you can also request items. It’s great for the planet and also gives a real community connection with safeguards in place. With millions of users on the app already, it’s well worth downloading and seeing what’s going on in your neighbourhood.

What are your favourites? Find us on social media and let us know.

 

If each person in the supply chain or in their personal lives does something small to contribute to mitigating against waste in some way or another, we can make a huge difference. The result? We can all start working towards the same goals of reducing waste and improving the planet, something which really cannot wait a minute longer.

Learn more about how to improve sustainability and reduce food waste in your business using Orderly today. Want to help us more? Come and work with us or learn how to grow sustainability advocates in your business.