Climate change is never confined to boundaries or borders, hence collaboration among all is required to save the planet, said Faruque Hassan, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
“There is a sharp disconnect between sustainability and pricing mechanism. Manufacturing cleaner and greener production cannot come at free of cost. Supplying countries like Bangladesh have their own challenges and constraints. So we need more strategic collaboration in this regard,” he said while addressing a program on sustainability as a special guest.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) organized a launching program of ‘Securing Green Transition of the Textile and Readymade Garments Sector in Bangladesh’ in Dhaka on January 30.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change attended the program as chief guest.
Ms. Christine Johansson, Deputy Head of Mission and, Head of Development Co-operation, Embassy of Sweden; Dr. Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD); Md Fazlul Hoque, Managing Director, Plummy Fashions Limited and Former President, Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF) and BKMEA; Mohammad Hatem, Executive President, BKMEA; Shams Mahmud, former President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Managing Director of Shasha Denims; Nazma Akter, founder and Executive Director, Awaj Foundation; Mohammed Zahidullah, Chief Sustainability Officer, DBL Group also spoke at the event.
In his address, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said environment sits at the top of our agenda in BGMEA and in the sector at large, and the strides towards environmental sustainability in past decades testify to the fact.
He said Bangladesh has the highest number of LEED Green factories in the world with 157 factories certified by the USGBC of which 47 are Platinum rated, 96 Gold rated while 40 out of the global top 100 factories are located in Bangladesh. Around 500 more factories are waiting to be certified.
“These green factories are equipped with all the eco-friendly features and emit around 40% less carbon than a conventional factory,” he added.
BGMEA has been recently awarded the USGBC Leadership Award 2021, which is by far the first of its kind for any association in Bangladesh as a recognition of the committed efforts of the association.
BGMEA has pledged the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action with a commitment to facilitate reduction of 30% GHG emissions reduction in the industry further.
He further said, “We need technical assistance with regard to access to technologies, and building capacity of our human resources to embrace the green technologies and processes.”
