Gojek Pledges to Achieve Zero Emissions, Zero Waste & Zero Barriers by 2030 in First Annual Sustainability Report

By India Education Diary Bureau Admin On May 1, 2021

As part of its sustainability mission to create positive impact and long-term value for people and the planet, Gojek, Southeast Asia’s leading mobile on demand services and payments platform, today announced commitments to Three Zeros: Zero Emissions, Zero Waste and Zero Barriers, to be achieved by 2030. Gojek unveiled these pledges in its first annual Sustainability Report, which detailed its progress to date and way forward in implementing thorough environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices.

Focusing on where the company can make the biggest impact for all of its stakeholders in line with pressing environmental and social issues, Gojek’s approach will be structured around three specific areas: environmental sustainability (GoGreener) to achieve Zero Emissions and Zero Waste, as well as socio-economic progress (GoForward) and equality and inclusion (GoTogether) to achieve Zero Barriers.

Gojek’s ESG report is the first to be compiled by a Southeast Asian Internet company in alignment with international standards.^[1] Select disclosures relating to the relevant material issues have been assured by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Indonesia^[2]. Gojek is leading the region’s tech industry in integrating ESG best practices across its business and voluntarily disclosing its performance on material ESG issues.

Kevin Aluwi, Co-CEO, Gojek, said, “We have always been a company that is focused on finding the intersection of what is good for society and company growth. It is part of our DNA and the reason people come to work at Gojek. As we’ve grown, it has become more important to develop a way to make sure we hold ourselves to account and are constantly pushing forward and leading the industry on issues that are so important to us and society as a whole. That’s why we are scaling our efforts to embed environmental and social considerations into the very heart of our organization. In doing so, we hope to create lasting, impactful change for our communities, partners and the world we live in, ensuring we can live up to our mission for the long term.”

Andre Soelistyo, Co-CEO, Gojek, added, “There is a pressing need for the private sector to take action and help address the most critical environmental and social issues that plague our planet and communities today. As Gojek continues to grow in size and strength, with millions relying on our platform daily, we have a responsibility to do so sustainably. Through the integration of industry-leading ESG practices, we are ensuring we do business better across our entire ecosystem, while paving the way for other companies in the region to do the same. These are issues that are of increasing importance to stakeholders everywhere and we are determined to exceed their expectations for the good of Indonesia, Southeast Asia and the rest of the world.”

Gojek is already making significant strides towards its targets, which will be reviewed and disclosed annually:

GoGreener

● Committed to conducting an annual inventory for scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions^[3], and waste accounting, to commence in 2021

● Launched the GoGreener Carbon Offset in-app feature – the world’s first for B2C carbon offsetting in the ride-hailing industry

● Commissioned feasibility studies and pilot projects to accelerate the adoption of EVs, with the ambition to transition to 100% EVs by 2030

● Launched the GoTransit service to better integrate its first and last mile transportation with public transportation

● Joined the steering committee of the National Plastic Action Partnership for Indonesia, managed under the World Economic Forum’s Global Plastic Action Partnership

● 13+ tons of single-use plastic waste prevented through a paid cutlery program (since August 2019); 6.3+ tons of single-use plastic waste collected through various pilot programs in 2019, with several new pilots commencing in 2021

GoForward

● Helped 530,000+ driver partners save on their daily expenses through the Swadaya program (benefits program for driver partners)

● Diversified income-earning opportunities for driver partners through collaboration with PromoGo and the launch of GoCek^[4]

● Launched the GoFood Partners Community (with over 54,000 merchant partners) to help hone business and digitization skills for micro and small businesses

GoTogether

● Signed the UN’s Women Empowerment Principles for advancing gender equality and committed to only hosting gender diverse panels for Gojek speaking events

● Established an employee-led Council to steward corporate diversity, equality and inclusion policies and programmes

● Developed processes and infrastructure for employees to launch Employee Resource Groups^[5]

The report embodies Gojek’s commitment to supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To ensure greater accountability, the company is also forming a Sustainability Advisory Council, comprising impartial external experts from various organizations including UN Women, ASEAN Centre of Energy, University of Indonesia and more.

“With less than 10 years to achieve the SDGs, we have to act now. By using the best available science, aligning with global standards and accreditations and applying a data-driven approach to our methodology, we are ensuring our strategy is as robust, relevant and impactful as possible. We also know we cannot achieve this alone and will leverage our network of like-minded partners to accelerate our progress through innovative and transformative expertise and capabilities,” said Tanah Sullivan, Group Head of Sustainability, Gojek.

Dr. Allinnettes Adigue, Head of the ASEAN Regional Hub of GRI, said: “Corporate sustainability is good for the people, planet and long-term profitability of a company because in the end, no one can do business in a dead planet. It is no longer a question of whether companies should report on their sustainability impact. Sustainability reporting is here to stay. It is now a question of whether what companies report are accurate and relevant, and clearly communicates their impact on the economy, environment and society. These issues matter to a wide range of stakeholders, not just the narrow interests of a few.

“GRI Standards, as the most widely used reporting standards in the world, is not just a reporting blueprint but more importantly, it provides organisations a global common language to set their sustainability goals and regularly measure, analyse and report on their progress. In turn, this allows them to continuously improve their sustainability performance. The GRI Standards encourages companies to focus on material topics that reflect their most significant sustainability impact through the use of quantitative data, narrative assessments and indicator-based systems.”

Protecting livelihoods and sustaining the community amid COVID-19

Gojek also helped to minimise the impact of COVID-19 across its ecosystem, ensuring the health and safety of stakeholders, developing new products and services to meet changing needs and creating alternative income opportunities for merchants and driver partners. In 2020, Gojek founded the Anak Bangsa Bisa Foundation (YABB) to support its partners and the wider community affected by the pandemic, raising IDR 100 billion from senior leadership and GoTroops and IDR 20 billion from corporate donations and other donation programs^[6].

Gojek also protected consumers and the wider community, leveraging the scale of its network to keep consumers up to date on health and safety guidelines as well as launching several app features and initiatives to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and support frontline workers.