WWF, SEPA push for eco-friendly industry

Speakers say collaborative efforts to put leather, textile on path of sustainable growth

KARACHI:

Smart and innovative solutions to conserve water, energy, and other natural resources in the textile and leather sectors can help reduce adverse environmental impacts, provide cost-saving opportunities and enhance the overall revenue of industries.

These solutions should be implemented in the industrial sector on a larger scale across Pakistan. Speakers stated this during the media briefing workshop organized by WWF-Pakistan under its 6-year International Labour and Environmental Standards Application in Pakistan’s SMEs (ILES) project, funded by the European Union. The project is implemented in four major cities across Pakistan, which include Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Sialkot. It aims to support the economic integration of Pakistan into the global and regional economy by increasing exports through improved compliance and gaining the confidence of international buyers.

Speaking on occasion, Rashid Ahmed, Manager of ILES WWF-Pakistan, shared the project’s successes and highlighted that the project contributed to reducing carbon emissions and chemical usage and promoted the efficient use of energy resources. He further said that over 21 textile and leather industries in Pakistan have collectively saved 226.39 million rupees by implementing sustainable environmental management practices introduced by these initiatives. To enforce environmental laws and standards in Pakistan, the project built the capacity of relevant government officials and financial institutes. Despite being the country’s two largest export earning sectors, the Textile and leather sectors face challenges such as compliance issues, availability of the raw material, and international market competition. He lauded the government’s efforts to approve a new textile policy, which envisages doubling its export target up to USD 42 billion over the next three years.

Ashiq Ali Langah, Director Technical, Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), said that the agency, in collaboration with WWF-Pakistan, has drafted the Cleaner Production Policy, which is the first of its kind in the industrial history of Pakistan. He said that the policy aims at providing technical and professional support to industries to adopt sustainable practices, environmentally sound processes and equipment in line with international standards. He believed that Sindh faces several environmental challenges, but consolidated efforts are required to tackle them in time. He emphasised the need to improve the law enforcement mechanism in the province.

Furqan Ullah, Manager of Compliance and Sustainability at one of the leading textile industries, shared that the textile industry is facing multiple challenges, including gaps in environmental laws, lack of guidelines on carbon emissions, poor handling of resources and waste disposal.