Small RMG factories need easier green funding: CPD

Bangladesh needs to bring small and medium-sized garment factories under easier green financing schemes to accelerate the apparel sector’s transition to low-carbon production, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said Sunday (August 16).

The think tank also called for stronger efforts to secure funding from international climate funds and the development of modern systems to monitor and measure carbon emissions at individual factories.

The recommendations came at a seminar titled “Industrial Decarbonization in the RMG Sector: How to Take It Forward?” held at the BRAC Centre in Dhaka, where CPD presented a research report on decarbonising Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry.

CPD Research Director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, who presented the findings, outlined the sector’s major sources of emissions, existing challenges and policy measures needed to support its green transition.

The report said Bangladesh must accelerate the adoption of green technologies to maintain the competitiveness of its apparel exports as global brands tighten decarbonisation targets and the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) increases pressure on exporters to move towards lower-carbon production.

Energy-intensive processes such as textile dyeing, weaving, washing and finishing are among the major sources of emissions in the garment supply chain. Old boilers, gas-powered generators and the transportation of imported cotton and chemicals also contribute to the sector’s carbon footprint.

Bangladesh, however, has already made notable progress in green manufacturing and has one of the world’s largest concentrations of LEED-certified green garment factories.

The sector is also expanding rooftop solar power, recycling garment waste into new yarn and adopting automated technologies that reduce water consumption.

CPD said these gains need to be supported by policy and technological reforms. Easier access to green finance for smaller factories is particularly important, as many lack the financial capacity to invest in costly energy-efficient technologies.

The think tank also recommended strengthening efforts to access international climate finance and establishing modern data-monitoring systems to measure and analyse daily carbon emissions at factories.

Such systems would allow manufacturers to identify their emissions levels and take targeted measures to reduce them, CPD said.

The report concluded that stronger technological capacity, wider access to green financing and increased international climate funding could accelerate the RMG sector’s decarbonisation while helping Bangladesh maintain its position in increasingly competitive global markets.