Moving Towards a Sustainable Digital Future with Uber – a Legitimate Step Towards a Greener Economy or Merely Greenwashing Policy?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.19.2022.78.14

Keywords:

sustainable development, sharing economy, collaborative economy, Uber, ride-sharing, green economy

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to assess whether Uber should be evaluated as a profit-driven corporation hiding its destructive practices under green- -washing slogans, or as the pioneer of a new sustainable and environmentally friendly business model. Analysis of the Uber’s business model leads to the conclusion that the company deliberately benefits from hiding under the umbrellaterm of a sharing economy to attract more users and to operate in an unregulated or not-fully regulated market. Furthermore, Uber’s detrimental impact on the environment has been detailed in several European and American studies. Nevertheless, Uber has made steps away from a business model focused on service provision regardless of the environmental cost, and towards sustainably aware, low impact functioning. Uber’s ambitious Green Recovery plan of 2020 aims to start a green revolution in the ride-sharing market; however, it is questionable whether Uber will meet its own ambitious milestones.

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Author Biography

Anna Moskal, Monash University / Jagiellonian University

PhD researcher at Monash University (Australia), who holds titles of Master of Laws and Master of International Relations with First Class Honours at the Jagiellonian University (Poland). The author has published three books, and nine scientific articles in renowned journals, and is an active participant in over 40 national and international academic conferences. The author is the recipient of the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund and has extensive international academic experience at Harvard University (USA), University of Washington (USA), Cambridge University (UK), University of Melbourne (Australia), and Antwerp University (Belgium). The author has been awarded the National ‘Student Nobel Prize’, made the Minister’s List for three consecutive years and Dean’s List for four consecutive years. The author is also a lawyer, English tutor and qualified mediator, whose expertise includes international economic law, digital law, European Union law, and alternative dispute resolutions (specifically mediation and international investment arbitration).

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Published

2022-11-24

How to Cite

Moskal, Anna. 2022. “Moving Towards a Sustainable Digital Future With Uber – a Legitimate Step Towards a Greener Economy or Merely Greenwashing Policy?”. Politeja 19 (3(78):267-82. https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.19.2022.78.14.

Issue

Section

International Affairs