Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is partnering with the Bangladesh Export Oriented Garments Washing Industries Owners Association (BEOGWIOA) and the South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF) to improve the environmental compliance standards in garment industry. The initiative is aimed at  developing the capacity of the association to monitor and provide advisory service to their members about the environment compliance.

SEDF is assisting the associations to conduct environmental surveys on up to 250 member factories with washing- dyeing-finishing facilities and create an interactive database of the environmental compliance standards, said a BGMEA release.

They are also giving training to compliance officers to carry out environmental assessments so the monitoring can continue on a regular basis. The assessments are expected to be completed by May 2011.  Under the project, a study is underway to identity best effluent treatment plant (ETP) suitable for local factories.Furthermore, SEDF and the associations are working together to create a service providers database offering environmental compliance related services which will be ready to launch in January 2011. Environment compliance monitoring and advisory cell will be formed to offer training programmes and  services on cleaner
 

production amongst the member factories. "This collaboration is assisting us in our work to promote environment compliance standards in the industry to ensure long term  sustainability," said Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of BGMEA.

BEOGWIOA president Shafiqur Rahman said, "This project is helping the washing, dyeing and finishing industry to introduce cleaner production techniques. This will reduce the cost of operations and make the industry environmentally compliant".