Bangladesh has recently become the country that accommodates half of the world’s top 100 LEED certified green industrial units as the local entrepreneurs have been investing in environment-friendly manufacturing facilities.
Of these top LEED certified factories in the country, 49 are in the apparel sector, while one is in the electrical appliances industry, according to the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
After the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, mainly the country’s apparel sector entrepreneurs focused on issues related to carbon, energy, and environmental quality to enhance the industry’s image at global level and to get more attention from reputed brands and retailers.
Currently, Bangladesh has 187 LEED certified green factories, all but four of which are in the garment sector. Among these LEED certified garment factories, 63 are platinum rated, 110 gold rated, and 10 are silver rated.
KDS IDR Ltd, located in Kalurghat, Chattogram, was the latest Bangladeshi garment factory to receive the platinum rated LEED certification on 1 February 2023, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
Sources at the BGMEA said 500 more garment factories are in the pipeline for getting LEED certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) for their green initiatives.
According to the USGBC, China has only 10 platinum rated factories, the second highest following Bangladesh, while Pakistan ranked third with nine platinum rated factories.
India and Sri Lanka have six platinum rated factories each, Vietnam and Taiwan have four each, while Myanmar and USA have only two such factories each.
Turkey, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Paraguay, Romania and UAE have one LEED certified platinum rated factory each.
“The LEED certifications indicate that the country’s apparel sector operates business in compliance with the rules related to environmental safety, water and energy saving, and the workers’ welfare,” said Mohiuddin Rubel, a BGMEA director involved in the green initiatives.
It is not mandatory for the factories to be green to get orders from the international clothing brands and retailers, but manufacturers still spend millions of dollars to become environment-friendly. In future, buyers might make it mandatory for the garment suppliers, he said.
Initial investment for building a green factory is about 30% higher than that required for a normal factory, but in the long run such a factory’s operational cost is lower compared to others, which is why the manufacturers are taking green initiatives, he continued.
“None of the buyers are ready to pay any additional prices for the green initiatives, but they prefer placing orders in these factories, knowing that these suppliers make products in compliance with the rules related to environmental safety,” said Rubel, expressing his frustration.
He further said the government should encourage entrepreneurs in this regard by providing policy support for green initiatives, adding that, “A 2% tax cut is not an attractive benefit for green factories considering its investment cost.”
Echoing Rubel, Kutubuddin Ahmed, founder of the Envoy Textiles Ltd, the world’s first platinum certified denim mills, said the buyers do not pay additional prices to the factories for taking green initiatives as they always want to get products at lower prices.
Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, CEO of the Fatullah Apparels Ltd, one of the highest rated platinum rated knitwear factories in the world also said the buyers do not pay additional prices for the green initiatives, but they may change their mindset in the future.
“We have invested millions of dollars to make the factories environment-friendly not solely for better prices but to protect nature while doing business,” said Ehsan, who is also the vice-president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
