The Leinster team had a commercial arrangement after the Captains Run at the Aviva Stadium today with Tadhg Furlong among the players speaking to media about a new initiative with Leinster partner Just Eat.
It was announcing the launch of a €50,000 fund as part of a price-match initiative to further promote the roll-out of seaweed-coated takeaway packaging from recent Earthshot UK Climate Prize winners Notpla, across its restaurant partner network in Ireland.
The prestigious Earthshot Prize awarded by Prince William in Boston last month has provided Notpla with a grant to scale up its sustainable business further in 2023. The Just Eat Notpla boxes are lined with a coating which is unique in the way it replaces usual plastic, or bio-plastic, lined takeaway containers commonly used in the food industry.
The boxes have been designed with a seaweed-based coating and are water-resistant and greaseproof to ensure they can be used as food packaging. The innovative packaging is both fully recyclable and will biodegrade within 4-6 weeks in a home compost, just like a piece of fruit.
Notpla packaging will be available for purchase by Just Eat’s restaurant partners at the same price as equivalent traditional packaging. The price-match initiative has been designed to offset some of the associated costs for restaurant partners seeking to make sustainability packaging available to their Irish customers.
To coincide with the launch of the initiative, and in acknowledgement of Just Eat’s sponsorship with Leinster Rugby, Notpla packaging will be made available from selected food vendors operating at the Aviva Stadium as a once off for the Leinster’s Champions Cup clash against Racing 92 taking place at the stadium tomorrow.
Beyond this, the packaging will be rolled out for food vendors at the RDS for all of Leinster’s remaining home fixtures this season.
The fund, which is the first of its kind for Just Eat in Ireland and has a value of €50,000 will enable restaurant partners to purchase the new Notpla packaging for no additional cost to its standard packaging options. This initiative has been developed to aid Just Eat’s restaurant partners in reducing their use of single-use packaging and support the development of a more sustainable food delivery sector in Ireland.
Robin Clark, Senior Global Director, Partner & Partnerships Marketing, ESG & Sustainability at JUST EAT Takeaway.com, said:
“We are constantly looking for ways to move the needle and make a meaningful impact when it comes to sustainability, not only for our own business but for our restaurant partner ecosystem as well. Our partnership with Notpla, which now spans six markets including Ireland, plays a critical role in our strategy to help build a more sustainable future for the food delivery sector. By launching this fund, which is designed to help our restaurant partners adopt more environmentally friendly products and practices, we are able to influence operations not directly in our control.”
“As a business that’s very proud of our operations in Ireland” added Amanda Roche-Kelly, Managing Director, Just Eat Ireland.
“We’re fully cognisant of the Irish Government’s ambition to meet certain sustainability targets over the coming weeks, months and years. If we can play even in the smallest role in supporting that ambition, then we’re happy to do so. We know there isn’t a quick fix in tackling sustainability, however by partnering with such iconic Irish organisations such as Leinster Rugby and the RDS, we feel this is a great way to drive awareness of Notpla packaging and ultimately support our restaurant partners to make an immediate impact.”
