Dive Brief:
- Uber unveiled a spate of climate-focused features and updates to its platform’s offerings during its annual sustainability product showcase held in London on Oct. 8 that look to expand environmentally-conscious options for consumers.
- The updates will allow users of the ride-share app to opt for electric vehicles at the same price tag as the standard “UberX” cab, track the amount of emissions avoided by choosing more sustainable transport alternatives and experience innovative EV models through pop-ups available in select cities.
- The transportation company’s expanded green product suite builds on its goal to be an emissions-free mobility platform by 2040. Uber initially announced the target in 2020, before scaling the goal to include its Uber Eats food delivery business.
Dive Insight:
Uber said it now has over 182,000 EVs available on its platform, and its sustainable “Uber Green” offering — which allows users to opt for a hybrid or electric car — is available in more than 200 cities globally. The ride-share giant said the expansion of its EV offerings has enabled users to choose an EV-only option in the app in over 40 cities.
Additionally, Uber announced it will give app users the opportunity to take a ride in some of the newest EV models available on the market today through a series of pop-ups. London-based riders will have the chance to experience the Lotus Eletre, while riders in Los Angeles, Miami and Dallas will be able to ride in the Rivian R1, per a company press release.
The app will now also allow users to shop on-demand from environmentally friendly brands curated under Uber’s “Climate Collection.” Brand offerings include L’Occitane, Cuyana, Allbirds, Credo Beauty, Avaline and more. Uber said it plans to expand this product suite in the following months.
The updates, announced at Uber’s “Go-Get Zero” event on Oct. 8, also included sustainable offerings for drivers and restaurant merchants that use the platform. On the driver side, the company is launching a virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence through OpenAI’s GPT-40 terminal starting next year. The goal is to assist drivers looking to explore a shift to EVs and help them answer questions about EV models and, ultimately, accelerate EV adaptation, according to Uber.
Uber said it was also launching a sustainable packaging marketplace for restaurants enrolled in Uber Eats and setting monetary incentives to motivate these restaurants to opt for such greener packaging alternatives. For example, Uber said it had invested nearly $1 million to help Paris-based eateries adopt more environmentally friendly packaging alternatives.
Overall, the company aims to “help scale the next generation of climate entrepreneurs that are tackling the barriers to electrification and sustainable delivery” Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in the release.
“We’ll keep using our platform as a launchpad for new innovations that make sustainable choices easier, more affordable, and just plain better for all of us,” Khosrowshahi said.
The slew of climate-focused updates come shortly after Uber hired former Tesla executive Rebecca Tinucci as its global head of sustainability in August. Tinucci took over the helm of overseeing and building on Uber’s sustainability strategy, which also includes a target to shift a sizable number of drivers enrolled in its platform in the U.S., Canada and Europe to electric vehicles through its Green Future program by 2025.
“Our EV trajectory has been accelerating in recent years, with Uber drivers going electric more than five times faster than the typical car owner, and we’re thrilled for Rebecca to take Uber’s EV and sustainability momentum to the next level,” an Uber spokesperson told Smart Cities Dive sister publication ESG Dive over email at the time.
