Environment and Forest Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud has said that the country’s export volume of readymade garments (RMG) would reach USD 60 billion within the next four to five years due to growing global interest, driven by improved factory environment and product quality.“We feel proud for possessing the top seven green RMG factories among the 10 around the world,” he added.He was speaking at an award-giving ceremony organised by the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) at its Apparel Club yesterday.BGMEA president Md Siddiqur Rahman presided over the programme, which was also attended by its first vice-president Moinduddin Ahmed, vice- president SM Mannan (Kochi), vice-president (finance) Mohammed Nasir, and vice-president Mahmud Hasan Khan (Babu).The minister said the RMG sector of Bangladesh can compete with that of any country in the world as the sector has been developed though hard labour.About the next wage board for RMG workers, the minister said positive attitude shown by both RMG unit owners and workers will usher in good results.He, however, said incentives for the sector would require the achievement of the highest export target.Siddiqur Rahman said a wage board to fix the salary of workers has already been formed. “The salary will be fixed by the board. It’ll be decided on the basis of the industry’s capacity and the requirement of the workers,” he added.Later, the minister handed over crests and certificates to 13 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green factories.The LEED Green factories are Remi Holdings Ltd, Tarasima Apparels ltd, Plummy Fashion Ltd, Vintage Denim Studio Ltd, Columbia Washing Plant Ltd, Echotex Ltd, SQ Celsius Unit 2 Ltd, Kaniz Fashion Ltd, Genesis Washing Ltd, Genesis Fashion Ltd, SQ Birichina ltd, SQ ColBlanc Ltd, and Envoy Textiles Ltd.The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has developed this certification process to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and to encourage market transformation towards sustainable designs. Bangladesh has 32 LEED certified green buildings in which the world’s top environment-friendly garments and textile factories are located.As per the USGBC certification, LEED is the most widely used third-party verification for green buildings, with around 1.85 million square feet being certified daily. LEED works for all buildings—from homes to corporate headquarters—at all phases of development.An LEED certificate requires factories to meet its nine requirements, where each chunk has separate points like integrative process (IP), location and transportation (LT), sustainable sites (SS), water efficiency (WE), energy and atmosphere (EA), materials and resources (MR), indoor environment quality (IEQ), innovation in design (ID), and priority (RP).
