BGMEA showcases RMG industry’s strides in sustainability at COP26

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has showcased the good work the readymade garment (RMG) sector has done in the area of sustainability at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Scotland’s Glasgow.

It has also highlighted green revolutions and commitments at the summit that began on October 31.

A Bangladesh pavilion was inaugurated at the official COP26 venue on November 1.

The BGMEA’s official delegation to COP26 headed by its President Faruque Hassan attended the inaugural ceremony, and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam was also present.

The delegation also included BGMEA Vice-President Miran Ali, directors Asif Ashraf and Abdullah Hil Rakib, and Shasha Denims Managing Director Shams Mahmud.

The BGMEA presented its Sustainability Report 2020, which was based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) along with its SDG Reporting on 47 member factories.

Besides, a video presentation on the sustainability strides of the RMG industry was shown at the Bangladesh pavilion.

A good number of visitors, including many brands and international media, visited the pavilion and praised the achievements of Bangladesh’s apparel industry in environmental sustainability.

Bangladesh is home to the highest number of green garment factories in the world with the Leadership in Environmental and Energy in Design (LEED) certification given by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).

The country has 150 LEED Green factories, of which 44 are Platinum rated and 93 are Gold rated.

Moreover, 40 out of the top 100 green factories of the world belong to Bangladesh while 500 more are in the process of getting certification.

This proves the focused drive of the industry in the area of environmental sustainability.

The COP26 summit aims to bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

It is very significant and crucial for global climate policy against the backdrop of the likelihood of the global mean temperature rise by 2.7 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial levels by the end of this century due to massive human-induced GHG emissions.

Therefore, it has huge implications for climate vulnerable economies like Bangladesh.