The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and German development cooperation agency GIZ have joined hands in a bid to strengthen human rights and environmental due diligence in the RMG sector of Bangladesh. 

As part of the collaboration, BGMEA with the support of GIZ will develop an ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) Digital Data Reporting Platform for collecting and publishing data on the sustainability performance of BGMEA member factories.

BGMEA will establish a Due Diligence Unit for BGMEA member factories to assist them in getting ready for the Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) requirements.

This unit will support factory management and mid-level management of RMG factories including, sustainability officers, social compliance officers, HR officers to integrate environmental and human rights due diligence in their operations and meet buyers’ expectations regarding the implementation of risk mitigating measures.

In this regard, BGMEA and GIZ signed a Cooperation Agreement on March 9. 

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan and Project Manager, GIZ Dr. Michael Klode inked the agreement on behalf of their respective sides. 

BGMEA Director Barrister Vidiya Amrit Khan, Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Sustainability Sheikh M. Mustafiz, and from GIZ Technical Advisor Dr. Carla Dohmwirth, Advisor

Ms. Mousumi Margaret Chiran and Jr. Advisor Mahmudul Islam Khan were also present at the MoU signing ceremony held at BGMEA Complex in Uttara, Dhaka. 

As per the agreement, BGMEA and GIZ will work together to develop, functionalize and implement the online platform for collecting and publishing data on the sustainability performance of BGMEA member factories.

It also aims to build the capacity of BGMEA on maintaining the platform and publishing the sustainability performance data.

The objective of the Due Diligence Unit at BGMEA is to provide a one-stop service for BGMEA members regarding the upcoming legislative changes related to due diligence and sustainability.

Expressing thanks to GIZ, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said, “Through this project we believe we will be able to take another giant leap towards sustainability, and represent the "Made In Bangladesh" tag to the entire world as a symbol of excellence.”