DoorDash has made it a business helping local communities grow. And now, the largest meal delivery service in the U.S. wants to do it sustainably. In its first ESG report, the San Francisco-based firm has outlined its major achievement and its commitments going forward.
Born in Palo Alto, Calif., in 2013 with the mission to grow and empower local economies, the company had its IPO just over a year ago.
While its original goal was to help small merchants with their deliveries, as DoorDash has grown, it’s now, “needing to balance the needs of all the sides. So, not only helping merchants make money and grow a thriving business but also developing new products and powering delivery of things like pet food and clothing.” shared Abby Homer, corporate communications at DoorDash in a phone call. “We’re always working to meet consumers where they are and give valuable earnings opportunities to the Dashers who facilitate the deliveries.”
DoorDash already has a substantial impact on U.S. economic activity. In 2021, the company supported $68.9 billion in direct, indirect, and induced economic activity. It also has a global presence. And with its recent acquisition of Finland-based delivery service Wolt, it will add 23 countries to its portfolio.
In 2021, DoorDash expanded its footprint in historically underserved communities. Thirty-seven percent of its U.S. consumers were located in low-income communities, and 30 percent were in rural areas. It also delivered 16.9 million meals on behalf of food banks, food pantries, and other social impact organizations.
Last year also marked the company becoming net-zero across its Scope 1 (natural gas) and Scope 2 (electricity) emissions globally. The company achieved this by investing in carbon removal and clean energy.
However, the largest carbon footprint comes from Scope 3 emissions, such as from the vehicles used to deliver goods.
To address these GHG emissions, DoorDash has implemented programs to motivate Dashers to use more eco-friendly vehicles such as electric bikes and cars. Its partnership with Zoomo provides a rent-to-own option and multiple rental discounts for Dashers.
The company has also been at the forefront of diversity, equity, and inclusion for its employees. Last year, it created a new set of commitments to increase the share of underrepresented people in technical roles, as well as leadership over the next four years.
Currently, DoorDash counts 46% of women and nonbinary people in its global team and 46% in its global leadership team, which includes employees at the director level and above. In addition, underrepresented people of color make up more than one-third of its U.S. team. This was done by improving its diversity recruiting efforts, partnering with over ten organizations, and providing more extensive anti-bias training to support recruiting teams. After conducting a pay study, DoorDash confirmed that it achieved pay equity across gender, race, and ethnicity.
DoorDash’s DEI culture is global across the firm, said Homer. It means “holding leaders accountable to interviewing diverse candidates to making sure they have a commitment to diversity and are promoting and forming teams that are not ubiquitous one gender-one race.”
