Three new readymade garment (RMG) industrial units in Bangladesh received US Green Building Council’s (USGBC)-approved leadership in energy and environmental design (Leed) certificates.
On April 12, Trust Knitwear Garments Building and Trust Knitwear Washing and Dying Building of Bhabanipur in Gazipur received gold certificates from the USGBC, while also receiving the certificate for LeedBD+C; New Construction v3 – Leed 2009 rating system with scores of 61 and 64, respectively.
Moreover, on April 4, Quattro Fashion Ltd of Gazipur Sadar received a platinum certificate from the USGBC for the Leed O+M: Existing Buildingsv4.1 – Leed v4.1 rating system with a score of 86.
With the addition of these three new Leed certified factories, Bangladesh is now home to a total 195 green factories, of which 69 are platinum, 112 gold, 10 silver and 4 certified factories.
Mohiuddin Rubel, director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), shared the updated list of the green factories.
Among the top 10 global leading factories, 8 are from Bangladesh and top 54 factories out of the first 100 are in Bangladesh.
Moreover, a Bangladeshi readymade garment factory is now the global leader as a Leed-certified green factory with a score of 104 — the highest ever score in the industry category project in the world.
An additional 550 factories are either registered or in the pipeline for USGBC’s Leed certification, reported the apex body of the apparel sector.
So far, nine factory units have already achieved Leed certification in 2023 and in 2022, a total of 30 factory units received Leed certification, the highest in a year.
The factory units of Bangladesh have been obtaining the Leed certificate since 2001.
The USGBC credits factory units based on several criteria including transformation performance, energy, water, and waste management and the best performers are rated with platinum, followed by gold and silver.
These criteria help green factories significantly to reduce operational costs over time even though they may initially cost more to set up, according to industry insiders.
These factories also provide a safe working environment for employees.
Experts said that Bangladesh’s garment industry is now poised to take the lead globally by addressing mounting issues of sustainability, climate change, groundwater depletion, and efficiency.
The growing number of green apparel factories will give Bangladesh a vantage ground to cope with EU green deals and due diligence directives stated by both the experts and the businesses.
According to apparel manufacturers, the move towards green factory buildings helped regain Bangladesh’s image after the Rana Plaza tragedy, which claimed 1,134 lives and left more than 2,000 injured in 2013.
