Showcasing its deep commitment to sustainability and in addressing most pressing societal challenges, PayU, India’s leading online payment solutions provider, launched a series of impactful Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives last year. These initiatives represented PayU’s comprehensive approach to corporate social responsibility and environmental stewardship, positioning it as a pioneer in establishing a new pinnacle of sustainable business practices.
Priya Cherian, CHRO, PayU said, “As we reflect on the year 2023, it’s clear that our journey at PayU has been not just about achieving business milestones, but fundamentally about redefining the role of corporate entities in society. From launching groundbreaking sustainable packaging guidelines to empowering thousands through financial literacy programs and committing to renewable energy, our ESG initiatives are manifestations of our deep-seated belief in creating a more equitable, sustainable, and inclusive world.”
“We are more confident and dedicated than ever to push the envelope on the high benchmarks we have set for ourselves in terms of our sustainability goals in 2024” she further added.
Some of the initiatives were as follows:
- Sustainable Packaging Report Launch: Marking World Environment Day, PayU, in partnership with Prosus, launched the ‘Scaling Sustainable Packaging’ report on June 5th, 2023. This report addresses India’s waste management challenges and outlines ’10 Golden Rules’ for e-commerce and delivery platforms to reduce packaging waste, increase recycling, and foster innovation in regenerative materials. PayU India has made significant strides in sustainability, notably by shifting to recycled paper products and Green Garbage Bags, saving nearly 2 tonnes of plastic waste annually.
- Financial Literacy Trainings through Mobile Vans under PMGDISHA: PayU, in collaboration with CSC Academy, initiated a financial and digital literacy campaign via mobile vans. The aim of the campaign was for beneficiaries to become digitally literate, and gain a deeper understanding of financial, social and government services by participating in knowledge-based activities. Targeting an age group of 15 to 60 years from rural households, the campaign emphasizes SC-ST, BPL, differently abled, and women beneficiaries. Approximately 50,000 candidates are expected to be trained per year per vehicle, promoting secure digital financial transactions nationwide.
- DREC Initiative – Climate Finance for Rural Financial Inclusion: PayU adopted the D-RECs (Distributed Renewable Energy Certificates) mechanism, supporting E-Hands Energy’s initiative to provide solar solutions to over 920 rural banks in India. By purchasing D-RECs, PayU certifies renewable electricity generated by these projects, aiding in financial inclusion and transitioning to a low-carbon environment.
- Customized Workshops in Association with U & I: Between June and August, PayU designed and co-facilitated workshops across various locations with U & I. These initiatives aimed to inculcate a culture of continuous learning, focusing on fintech career opportunities and educational counseling.
- Employee Volunteering during CSR Quarter: In its CSR quarter (Nov 2023 – Jan 2024), PayU provided multiple volunteering opportunities, including tuition to underprivileged children, life-skills coaching, socio-emotional learning, and youth engagement programs. This initiative aligns with PayU’s objective of mentoring support to Gen Z and fostering a culture of innovation.
- B Corp Certification: PayU’s embarked on the journey of attaining the B Corp Certification. This certification would benchmark PayU’s policies, processes, business against the ESG parameters setup by B Labs, eventually demonstrating how well PayU adheres to the highest standards of ESG in terms of performance, transparency, and accountability. Embarking on this journey indicates that PayU is aiming at wholistic growth driven by business as well as positive ESG impact benefiting all our stakeholders / beneficiaries. PayU would also be amongst the very few Fintech players globally with this certification and since B Labs is a Global entity, the certification would also indicate PayU’s position compared to similar companies all-round the Globe.
- Adoption of 5 villages under RBI’s ‘75 Digital Villages’ Programme: To advance RBI’s mission of ‘Har Payment Digital’ forward, PayU has adopted five villages in Uttar Pradesh: Inampura, Palanpur, Sahanput, Manoharpur and Husainpur, spanning three districts -Saharanpur, Bijnor, Bulandshahr. Through a yearlong campaign promoting digital payments and their benefits, PayU will target approximately 5000 villagers aged 15 to 60, with a focus on SC/ST, BPL candidates, differently abled, and women beneficiaries from rural households. This transformative initiative aims to turn these villages into digital payment enabled villages.
