PM Honours 30 Institutions With ‘Green Factory Award’

Company Performance

PM Honours 30 Institutions With ‘Green Factory Award’

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina distributed the "Green Factory Award" to 30 institutions from six sectors marking the birth centenary of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The Prime Minister joined the event held at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium virtually from her official residence Ganabhaban, reads a press release. On behalf of the premier, the State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian presented the "Green Factory Award" to the representatives of 30 factories. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has introduced the "Green Factory Award, 2020" aimed at building Bangabandhu's ''Sonar Bangla'' and encouraging the local industrial institutions for competitive participation in the global arena. In her speech, the minister said, "In alignment with the 'Vision 2041' announced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the SDGs announced by the United Nations, 30 institutions from six sectors have been selected considering their institutional compliance and innovative activities through the use of environment-friendly technology and skilled manpower to ensure a safe and decent work place. She further added, "The initiative of awarding the Green Factory Award would serve as an incentive to make the industries environmentally friendly and ensure a conducive working environment in order to increase productivity.” Each organization or factory received a crest, medal, certificate and a cheque of Tk 1lakh. Fifteen factories have been selected from the apparel sector, four from the tea sector, two from the tannery sector, and three each from the plastic and pharmaceuticals sectors. The fifteen garment factories are – Remi Holdings Limited, Tarasima Apparels Limited, Plummy Fashions Limited, Mithela Textile Industries Limited, Vintage Denim Studio Limited, AR Jeans Producer Limited, Karooni Knit Composite Limited, Designer Fashion Limited, Kenpark Bangladesh Apparel Limited, Green Textiles Limited, Four H Dyeing and Printing Limited, Wisdom Attires Limited, Mahmuda Attires Limited, Snowtex Outerwear Ltd, and Auko-Tex limited. At the end of the programme, the State Minister for Labour and Employment inaugurated eight newly constructed buildings of Working Women's Hostel and Labour Welfare Centre under the Department of Labour. According to the press release, working women who do not find accommodation near their workplace will be able to stay in these new hostels at a low cost and also receive medical facilities. Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment Ehsan-E-Elahi was also present at the event. Bangladesh is the global leader having 152 green garment buildings certified "Leadership in Environmental and Energy in Design (LEED)" by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Among them 44 factories are platinum rated while 94 are gold rated, 10 are silver. 500 more factories are in the process of achieving LEED certification. BGMEA President Faruque Hassan congratulated the factories on winning the award and expressed appreciation for their efforts to reduce carbon emissions and global warming and their commitment to a healthy and sustainable future. He urged the government to honour all green garment factories in Bangladesh with awards to recognise their proactiveness and contributions to protecting the environment. The BGMEA President requested global brands and retailers to offer justified prices to green factories to encourage green initiatives in the apparel industry.