Investigating sustainable consumption practices: a case of single-use plastics in online food delivery market, Thailand

Abstract

Online food delivery platforms have demonstrated their financial success in the Thai market during the past few years. As a result, 560 - 2,856 million pieces of Single-use Plastics (SUPs) are expected each year. Furthermore, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a dilemma in sustainable consumption and intensified the plastic waste situation. The social dilemma poses difficult short-term choices between health and the environment. The concern is that while Thais have started to adopt new sustainable lifestyles with the no-plastic-bag policy, environmentalists worry that this COVID disruption will have a long-term behavioural impact on SUPs consumption habits. Consuming single-use packaging and cutlery is regarded as habitual consumption, where anomalies deviate decisions from rational (sustainable) consumption choices. Moreover, individual consumption decisions occur in the market with failures, where the decisions are not optimized. Green products are more expensive, green information is insufficient, and the waste management system is not efficient. Taking into consideration the micro and macro-limitations of achieving sustainable consumption, this study proposes initiatives to reduce and redirect the current set of consumption practices. These initiatives are based on behavioral instruments, market-based instruments, infrastructure and system provision, and green marketing approaches.

Based on these rationales, this research aims to understand the green profiles of each consumer group through cluster analysis based on a dilemma in sustainable consumption. It also aims to understand the dynamics in the multi-stakeholder system and identify leverage points in the system. The proposed initiatives were tested for their practicality and potential to reduce SUPs in the food delivery business. Ultimately, this study proposes strategic recommendations to reduce SUP in the food delivery business. The recommendations cover segment-specific managerial implications as well as system-wide measures with policy implications that would benefit the food delivery platforms, merchant partners, civil society, and policy makers. The survey questionnaire was mainly conducted online using both quantitative and qualitative methods, including cluster analysis, system dynamic analysis, and thematic analysis.

The findings suggested a three-cluster solution. Each cluster was found to be distinct in behavioral, environmental psychological, and demographic profiles. The managerial implication suggested that the initiatives should target the green cluster (cluster 3) and the general consumers (cluster 1) with different incentive schemes. System analysis revealed that ‘post-consumption system’, ‘economic instruments, law and regulations’, ‘benefit alignment’ and ‘cost and profit’ were high leverage points in the system that need to be improved. The study proposed setting ‘no cutlery’ as a default option, and adding ‘eco-label’ as short-term initiatives, while long-term strategies involve ‘eco-packaging subsidies’ and ‘deposit-return scheme’.