Online shopping discharges thousands of tonnes of plastic waste each year

This ministry believes that the law needs regulations on the construction and development of e-commerce

Currently, the regulations in Decree No.85/2021/ND-CP amending and supplementing several articles of Decree No.52/2013/ND-CP on e-commerce involving foreign traders, provide basic legal frameworks for the operation and operation models of e-commerce.

However, due to the strong development of e-commerce, current regulations need to be adjusted towards sustainable development for long-term growth.

According to the survey of the Vietnam E-commerce Association in 2024, the rapid development of the Vietnamese e-commerce industry has led to many environmental problems, especially waste from packaging, order fulfilment and online food delivery.

Without effective solutions to reduce plastic waste, by 2030, when the e-commerce market reaches $100 billion, the amount of plastic waste from this sector is estimated to reach 800,000 tonnes.

In 2024, the online shopping and food delivery markets in Vietnam reached $25 billion and $1 billion, respectively, emitting about 160,000 cardboard boxes and 171,000 tonnes of plastic, mainly single-use plastic, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

E-commerce is struggling with a significant increase in waste from packaging and transportation, putting great pressure on the environment.

Besides it, green standards and sustainable development responsibilities are becoming common requirements in global e-commerce activities, requiring businesses to integrate emission reduction solutions, use environmentally friendly materials and build green supply chains.

Therefore, the development of e-commerce policies needs to emphasise the development of environmentally friendly e-commerce infrastructure, encourage businesses to apply green technology and enhance consumer awareness of sustainable consumption.

These steps help protect the environment and enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese e-commerce, contributing to a sustainable digital economy.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Industry and Trade emphasised that it is necessary to supplement and improve the policy on developing e-commerce in a green and sustainable direction, and create better conditions for applying e-commerce in operations.

The state should allocate resources from the central to local levels to encourage sustainable e-commerce development. Moreover, businesses need to invest more in technology and innovate business processes to meet new standards, especially green e-commerce, the document highlighted.

Product prices may increase due to the cost of applying environmental standards and improving infrastructure.

Vietnam's e-commerce market surpasses $25 billion in 2024 Vietnam's e-commerce market exceeded $25 billion in 2024, an increase of 20 per cent on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

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Continued growth set for e-commerce The rapid growth of the digital economy has propelled Vietnam’s retail e-commerce market to surpass $25 billion in 2024, marking a 20 per cent increase from the previous year.