By Faruque Hassan, President, BGMEA
You are aware that Bangladesh RMG industry reached the landmark of 200 LEED certified factories by USGBC last month, and I am glad to share with you that the momentum continues as the number keeps growing. 2 more factories are certified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), both are Gold rated. This takes our total number of LEED factories to 202 of which 73 earned the prestigious Platinum rating, 115 Gold and 10 are silver rating.
You may recall that in 2022, we had the highest number of factories being LEED certified in a single year. With 30 factories receiving LEED certification 2022, 15 were Platinum and 15 Gold certified. Fast forward to August 2023, another 20 factories have earned this coveted recognition in 8 months of this year, with 13 achieving the esteemed Platinum rating and 7 attaining the Gold rating.
I am also glad to share with you that Bangladesh made a distinction being the home to 13 of 15 globally highest-rated LEED Green Factories. Among these, 1 stands out as the highest-rated LEED Green Factory globally. 500 more factories are in the pipeline to get the certification as its happening gradually.
Needless to mention that Bangladesh’s RMG industry has made all-out efforts with commitment and determination to become sustainable in every respect, especially in the workplace safety, workers wellbeing and environmental areas. The unparalleled green transformation is a testament of our visionary entrepreneurship showing resilience, flexibility, mindset toward positive changes and capability to adapt. This international recognition not only highlights our dedication, but also showcases our country’s potential as a leader in sustainable manufacturing practices.
The perception about the industry among the global community has changed significantly. Bangladesh is no more known as a producer of basic items and workplace hazards. In the past decade we have laid a strong foundation in workplace safety, transparency and developing an ecosystem to support growth. You are aware that BGMEA has taken a strategic vision 2030 which is firmly rooted in sustainability involving economic, social and environmental priorities. We are making our association, BGMEA, as a futuristic organisation. We established a Center for Innovation, Center for Efficiency and Center for OSH to foster innovation in every segment of the trade. We have also established the Textile Technology Business Center (TTBC), an offspring of the Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) project, that serves as a knowledge hub on resource efficiency, and business-to-business linkages with local and international technology suppliers. It helps the factories to decarbonise and adopt resource efficiency measures to reduce climate footprint. We established Responsible Business Hub Unit in BGMEA to strengthen the capacities of our manufacturers to adapt and comply with the globally emerging due diligence. We are establishing a digital data platform to baseline and monitor improvements of ESG practices at factories. Now we are promoting circularity and you may know that we have successfully organised two daylong conference on circular fashion very recently. Besides our endeavour to make the industry socially and environmentally responsible, we are also giving priority on product and market diversification, value addition, skill development design and innovation. This involves nurturing a culture of creativity and sustainability within the industry to cater to an evolving global market that increasingly values eco-conscious products.
Through all these steps and commitment, we have been able to retain the trust of the global buyers and also earned the respect being one of the most responsive manufacturing base toward sustainability. In recent time you have seen a good number of international customers visited Bangladesh with topmost delegation from their organisations. The expressed their satisfaction, and also talked about growth plan and partnerships. You might have noticed that the Managing Director of George Ms. Liz Evans, and a high level delegation of Primark , and Associated British Food namely George G. Weston, CEO of Associated British Foods; Paul Marchant, Chief Executive of Primark; Paul Lister visited Dhaka recently. They expressed their deep satisfaction on the progress we made and informed their position to further grow sourcing from Bangladesh. Moreover, key executives including Ezio Garciamendez, Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer; Wesley Gibson, Vice President, Managing Director Sourcing from the leading clothing brand “Kontoor” also visited Dhaka and met us on 13 September 2023 to collaborate with us in a journey of mutual growth and shared values.
I believe, Bangladesh going forward, will continue to focus on its core accomplishments which have placed us uniquely in the global apparel marketplace.
