Top rating: A man counts taka banknotes on the streets of Dhaka. With the Leed initiatives, Bangladesh’s garment sector has taken to doing business in line with global environmental and safety standards. — Bloomberg
DHAKA: Bangladesh is home to half of the top 100 green industrial units worldwide, with KDS IDR Ltd, a garment factory in Kalurghat, receiving platinum certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) programme.
Platinum certification is the highest category in the ranking system, with gold coming in second and silver coming in third.There is also a fourth category for industrial units that just meet the minimum requirements.
Being the global champion among Leed-certified factories, Bangladesh has 63 platinum-rated garment units, while another 110 are gold rated, 10 are silver-rated, and four are just certified.
Besides, more than 500 other garment factories are awaiting Leed certification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) for their green initiatives, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
China has the second-highest number of platinum-rated factories with only 10, while Pakistan is third with nine.
Other global leaders in Leed certification include India and Sri Lanka, with six each, while Taiwan and Vietnam have four.
Meanwhile, Myanmar and the United States each have two platinum-rated factories, while Ireland, Italy, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Paraguay, Romania, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates have one apiece, according to data from the USGBC.
Local businesspeople started building Leed-certified structures following two industrial disasters. These were the fire at Tazreen Fashions in 2012 and the collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013.
The Leed initiatives indicate that the domestic garment sector does business in line with global environmental and safety standards, said BGMEA director Mohiuddin Rubel.
It is not mandatory for international clothing retailers and brands to pay extra for goods sourced from Leed-certified industries even though these manufacturers spend millions to make their factories green.
Still, buyers prefer to place work orders at green units as they know the goods are produced in compliance with environmental and safety standards.
“Thus, even if buyers are not eager to pay higher prices in the short term, suppliers benefit in the long run by doing business with global retailers and brands,” Rubel added.
Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, proprietor of Fatullah Apparels, the highest-rated platinum certified knitwear factory in the world, said buyers may change their minds about paying additional prices for items sourced from green units in the future.
“We have invested money to make the factories green, not only for better prices but to protect the environment while doing business,” added Ehsan, who runs a factory in Narayanganj.
Kutubuddin Ahmed, founder of the Envoy and Sheltech Groups, which have a platinum-rated denim textile factory, said buyers do not pay additional prices for green initiatives as they have many suppliers.
“Buyers can get the same products at lower prices from uncertified suppliers, and so they do not care about green initiatives,” he added. — The Daily Star/ANN
