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GrubHub goes green

BY HOWARD WOLINSKY Staff Reporter

Want tacos al carbon or maybe spaghetti carbonera ? to go, hold the carbon?

GrubHub.com is aiming to reduce the environmental impact from delivering these dishes as well as pizza, burgers, ribs, you name it.

The Chicago-based online restaurant delivery service is going green.

On Tuesday, GrubHub began purchasing carbon credits to offset the environmental costs involved with its deliveries to customers in Chicago and San Francisco, said Matt Maloney, chief executive of GrubHub.com.

GrubHub?s environmental efforts include giving consumers the option of requesting reduced packaging and declining napkins and utensils. The startup company also is purchasing carbon credits to offset its electricity usage.

Climate change is one of the most challenging problems of our time,? Maloney said. ?By taking these steps, we are helping to build a framework that will reduce the impact of restaurant deliveries on our environment.?

Chicago-based Carbon Solutions Group is selling the credits to GrubHub.

Companies like GrubHub are leading the way in the fight against global climate change,? said Rory Gopaul, business development director at Carbon Solutions Group. ?Carbon offsets are an excellent way for companies and individuals to contribute to this effort by ensuring that any potential negative impact on the environment is counterbalanced with positive impacts.?

Consumers don?t pay a fee to order through GrubHub. But restaurants pay GrubHub a share of each order processed through its online ordering system and a flat fee for every order processed on the phone. The eateries pay a premium to be listed higher in the rotation of restaurants when users first sign onto GrubHub.