Blue Apron Releases Inaugural ESG Report Outlining Key Priorities and 2021 Updates

October 13, 2022 at 07:00 AM EDT

Better Living Roadmap Focuses on People, Product and Progress

Today, Blue Apron (NYSE: APRN) released its Better Living Roadmap, an inaugural environmental, social and governance (ESG) report. The report details Blue Apron’s ESG accomplishments in 2021 against its internal goals and includes the company’s first Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) report.

The company’s ESG work reflects its goals, values and expectations of its employees, supply chain, community of customers and investors. The work has focused on reducing food and packaging waste in its fulfillment centers and products, becoming carbon neutral, making a public commitment to sustainable packaging and more.

“Our Better Living Roadmap, in conjunction with our SASB report, demonstrates our commitment to transparency and our vision of Better Living Through Better Food™,” said Linda Findley, Blue Apron’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “While we are pleased with the progress we have made thus far and are proud of our example-setting standards, we know we can always improve and build upon each milestone. We look forward to providing updates on our progress in future reports.”

The Better Living Roadmap is a first step towards the company’s planned regular annual ESG reporting, with the next installment expected to be published in the first half of 2023.

Kelly Burton, Blue Apron’s Head of Sustainability and Social Impact, added, “This report is key to tracking the progress of our ESG initiatives, including social impact, diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), responsible sourcing, operational food waste reduction, packaging sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint. Through this report, we are holding ourselves accountable against all of our goals.”

The Better Living Roadmap outlines the company’s priorities in three key categories: People, Product and Progress. 2021 highlights include:

People
- Blue Apron’s $18 minimum wage demonstrated a commitment to its employees and has contributed to increased levels of productivity, including higher perfect quality box scores and lower levels of refunds.
- Internal programs such as Chef’s Table and Aprons for All highlighted Blue Apron’s dedication to the DE&I of its workforce.
- Since 2012, the company has partnered with regional food banks to donate surplus food and, in 2021, donated 1.3 million meals.*
Product
- Blue Apron’s fulfillment centers are certified under the Safe Quality Food (SQF) Food Safety Code, a standard the company has met since 2018.
- The company continues to adhere to leading animal welfare and sustainable seafood sourcing standards.
- A commitment to mitigating food waste led to food waste representing an estimated 1% of Blue Apron’s calculated Scope 3 emissions in 2021.
- Blue Apron became a carbon-neutral company by offsetting its estimated 2021 Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
- The company set a goal to achieve 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging in its meal kits by 2025 and has met approximately 85% of that goal to date.
Progress
- Blue Apron’s board of directors included 80% who identify as female and 20% who identify as racially diverse at the end of 2021.
- In 2021, all its Class B common stock was converted into shares of Class A common stock, and therefore the company is no longer a “controlled company” under the New York Stock Exchange’s guidelines.
- The company conducted its first ever sustainability materiality assessment in the first quarter of 2022 and its first SASB report is included as part of the Better Living Roadmap, creating a foundation to track Blue Apron’s progress.

View the full report at investors.blueapron.com/ESG.

* Feeding America estimates that 12 pounds of food equals 10 meals.

About Blue Apron

Blue Apron’s vision is Better Living Through Better Food™. Launched in 2012, Blue Apron offers fresh, chef-designed meals that empower home cooks to embrace their culinary curiosity, challenge their abilities in the kitchen and see what a difference cooking quality food can make in their lives. Blue Apron is a carbon-neutral meal-kit company and is focused on bringing incredible recipes to its customers, while promoting planetary and dietary wellness for everyone.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes statements concerning Blue Apron Holdings, Inc. and its future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "should," "expects," "plans," “forecasts,” "anticipates," "could," "intends," "targets," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Blue Apron has based these forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that it believes may affect its business, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without limitation, the company’s plans regarding environmental, sustainability and corporate governance reporting on its anticipated timeframe or at all, and other risks more fully described in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on February 25, 2022, the company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on May 9, 2022, the company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 filed with the SEC on August 8, 2022, and in other filings that the company may make with the SEC in the future. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.