PayU, one of the leading online payment service providers in India, and Prosus, the Netherlands-based global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world, launched the Scaling Sustainable Packaging Report in an effort to address the urgent need for sustainable packaging solutions in India's rapidly expanding e-commerce sector. The initiative coincided with World Environment Day.

The report examines in detail the enormous waste management issues that India is currently dealing with as a result of population increase, faster urbanisation, the availability of trash management services, and shifting consumer purchasing patterns in the food, grocery, and e-commerce sectors.

To address the problem of packaging waste and eliminate obstacles to making sustainability a viable business choice in India, the report outlines the 10 Golden Rules that e-commerce and delivery platforms should put into practice. It focuses on how companies cab promote innovation in regenerative materials, boost recycling rates, and minimise packaging waste to promote a greener and more sustainable future.

The 10 golden rules, according to an official statement are, ‘Reduce packaging through design and logistics, Remove problematic and unnecessary elements, Reduce virgin material and increase recycled content, Replace petrochemical-based plastics with low-impact and regenerative materials, Adopt and scale reuse models, Promote reuse models and sustainable options with partners and consumers, Calculate your packaging footprint, Raise awareness to improve recycling and composting, Invest in building infrastructure that captures materials and prevents waste, Create scale through collaboration.’

Prajna Khanna, global head of sustainability at Prosus Group, said, “With consumption patterns changing radically from physical world retail to online buying and e-tail, delivery platforms have an important role to play in tackling waste from packaging. These ten rules support the scaling of sustainable packaging by delivery platforms."

Through ethical business practices, PayU India is firmly devoted to sustainability and promoting good change. The business has significantly decreased its energy use (31 percent), water waste (53 percent) and solid waste (39 percent), for annual consumption of about 0.5 tonnes, by making the intentional decision to use recycled paper goods. By switching to green garbage bags, PayU has reduced its carbon footprint by 1 kg of every kg of a garbage bag and roughly 2 tonnes of plastic waste. By switching to EVs and glass bottles, the firm was able to lower its yearly CO2 emissions by 1.35 tonnes and 31.68 tonnes.