Safeguarding Ecology While Widening Industries Is Too Big An Obligation

A few years a Bangladeshi factory Green Textile Limited located in Bhaluka, Mymensingh has been recognized as the number one or top eco-friendly factory in the world. According to media report, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) has been recognized quality certificate as an environmentally friendly factory. Last February 21, the USGBC issued the prestigious certificate and the factory received 104 out of 110 marks in various criteria for environmentally friendly factories. More glorious news is that according to the latest USGBC list, 8 of the world's top 10 eco-friendly factories are in Bangladesh and the remaining two are in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. As of 2018, Indonesia had the world's most environmentally friendly factory. The factory then got 101 out of 110 marks. Moreover, 52 out of the top 100 environmentally friendly factories in the world are in Bangladesh and 10 factories in China are in the second position. Then Pakistan has 9 factories, Sri Lanka and India have 6 each with 12 and Vietnam and Taiwan have 4 and 8 factories each.

Currently, the importance, popularity and necessity of green factories or industry in the world is increasing at an appreciable rate due global brand. According to BGMEA, our country has 183 certified green factories as of December 2022, the highest compared to other countries, and another 500 factories are in the pipeline to be certified soon. Out of 183 garment and textile factories in Bangladesh, 60 have got Lead Platinum, 109 Gold, 10 Silver and 4 certified. Last year, a total of 27 companies in the ready-made garments and textiles sector received the certificate of eco-friendly factories.

Generally, green factories are built in compliance with all relevant international standards. Energy and water conservation, construction in compliance with building codes and proper waste management are given utmost importance while setting up such factories. It is important to keep solar power source, light with sensor, bicycle stand for energy saving, rainwater harvesting, water recycling systems, taps with sensors to reduce water wastage and modern sanitary fittings are essential to save water. Not only this, a green factory has to maintain indoor air quality as per ASHRAE standards. Besides, the temperature inside the factory is controlled to a tolerable level, which plays a role in maintaining the good health and productivity of a worker.

The primary foundation of a green factory is efficient and sustainable production, which balances environmental and business interests. All USGBC guidelines are preferred while setting up green factories. A factory is required to receive certification from the USGBC by achieving minimum standards in six specific areas prescribed by the USGBC to become Lead Certified. These include sustainable sites, efficient water management and electricity use, improved working environment, etc. If an industry or factory passes this standard then the factory gets the lead certificate based on the given marks. For example, when a factory building gets 80 or more points, it is certified as a Lead Platinum building in UG, similarly 70 or more is certified as Gold and 60 or more as Silver. Sustainable design is the key to green factories. In this process, maximum production is ensured in a fair working environment by utilizing natural resources in a cost-effective manner. The establishment is evaluated on a total of 110 points in various categories.

The reality is that setting up or renovating a green factory is very expensive. Advanced technology materials are used to make it. For example VOC Free Point, RUG Certified, FSC Certified, ASHRAE, Energy Star etc. international standard products are to be used. As a result, setting up a green factory costs at least 20-30 percent more than a normal factory. But since setting up a green factory is part of a long-term plan, the investment in this case is profitable in all respects and is quite important for international reputation and reputation. So we should make the policy of green finance easier. However, the USGBC's Green Factory policy places great importance on the working environment of the workers and thereby makes the working environment more pleasant for the workers. Workers also feel comfortable working in green infrastructure due to adequate light and ventilation, advanced machinery and modern facilities.

In our country mainly after the Tazreen Garments fire and the Rana Plaza collapse, foreign buyers started canceling purchase orders one after another. They even pressured the closure of the country's garment factories by alleging non-compliance. Accord and Alliance, a coalition of European and American buyers, visited the garment factories of Bangladesh at various times, creating fear among the entrepreneurs and causing great discomfort among the entrepreneurs. Later on, due to the constructive initiatives taken by the industrial owners, the uncertain situation has gradually been removed and a very favorable situation has been created and many readymade garment manufacturers are turning towards green industrialization.

A significant feature of the concept of green industrialization is the protection of the environment. It is considered a difficult challenge to run the production process in an environment friendly, electricity, water and gas saving, healthy environment, but this challenge can be met through the implementation of green industrialization concept. Our garment sector has to face tough competition with other countries in the international arena. Our readymade garment sector has to move ahead despite many hurdles, setbacks, conspiracies. Globally now everyone has to pay special attention to environmental protection. Garment buyer countries and international organizations and groups are now imposing environmental and labor-friendly conditions in the garment production process. Their satisfaction can only be achieved by fulfilling the conditions and for this now, compliance has to be given special importance in the garment industry. In the past this issue has been kind of ignored. Pressure from foreign buyers has also played a major role in the growing popularity of the concept of green industrialization.

There is no alternative to sustainable development to survive in the global market. Therefore, to strengthen our position in the global market, we must focus on environmentally friendly production systems. Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) formulation and implementation should be looked at more seriously, along with financing green industrialization. Consumers worldwide are increasingly interested in sustainable and low carbon footprint clothing, and popular fashion brands are also trying to woo consumers with their renewed commitment to eco-friendly clothing. Bangladesh is one of the low carbon emitting countries in the world, yet it is gaining recognition in the world as a renewable energy consuming country. Bangladesh has the largest number of solar home systems. Renewable energy is becoming increasingly popular in Bangladesh's garment industry. BGMEA has already signed ENFCC's initiative Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the apparel sector by 30 percent by 2030.

In the continuation of the modernization and development of the world economy, there is no alternative to environmentally friendly infrastructure and working environment for pioneering and sustainable industrialization in parallel with the Sustainable Development Goals. The temperature of the earth has increased much more than what it was before the industrial age. If this trend continues, the temperature will increase by 1.5 degrees by 2030, according to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report. In today's world everyone is aware and conscious about climate change. Consumers especially young consumers want to know about the environmental quality of the product such as carbon footprint, water footprint, ecological footprint etc. while purchasing the product. Everyone is now interested in buying and using products produced in environmentally friendly factories. In such a situation, the importance of green industrialization in our garment industry is very high. Not only the needs of the consumer group can be met by using eco-friendly technology, but also the importance of eco-friendly industry is immense in terms of branding and image building. Along with this, a precedent is being created to increase productivity. For this reason, the importance of environment-friendly technology and sustainable green industrialization should be increased not only in the ready-made garment industry, but also in other areas to increase exports.


Rifat Rafique Badhan is a
freelancer and a columnist.