Under the IFC-led initiative ‘Partnership for Cleaner Textile’, more than 450 textile and ready-to-wear manufacturers in Bangladesh have lowered their yearly freshwater consumption by 35 billion litres and their wastewater discharge by 29 billion litres.
In honour of the PaCT program’s tenth anniversary, the International Finance Corporation declared that the freshwater conserved as a result of the initiative’s decreased usage could supply over 1.9 million people’s annual water needs.
These factories now achieve yearly energy savings of 3.8 million megawatt hours and a reduction in carbon emissions of 7,23,617 tonnes, which is the same as taking around 1,60,000 cars off the road.
To bring systemic and positive change to the textile value chain in Bangladesh, IFC’s partnership for PaCT programme has catalysed transformative change over the last 10 years, contributing to the sector’s competitiveness and environmental sustainability, the statement said.
The advisory programme PaCT — supported by Denmark and the Netherlands —is spearheaded by IFC and implemented in collaboration with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
PaCT has also collaborated with a number of top companies throughout the years, including as VF Corp, PUMA, Levi Strauss & Co., and TESCO.
‘Let me stress how pleased we are to see that PaCT has become a market leader in both its scale and comprehensiveness of its activities, especially on advisory support for energy efficiency and renewable energy,’ said Denmark ambassador to Bangladesh Christian Brix Moller.
According to IFC, the PaCT programme was launched to support the entire textile value chain — spinning, weaving, wet processing and garment factories — in adopting cleaner production practices.
The programme engaged with brands, technology suppliers, industrial associations, financial institutions and the government to bring about systemic and positive environmental changes in Bangladesh’s textile sector, contributing to its long-term competitiveness and environmental sustainability.
‘We appreciate the contribution of the PaCT programme by IFC over the past decade. We hope that its impact will continue in the coming decades and our industry will grow at a rapid rate while remaining sustainable and safe,’ said BGMEA vice-president Miran Ali.
According to the IFC statement, the PaCT program’s next phase would focus on promoting decarbonisation and circular processes to reduce the carbon footprint of the industry.
