Calls for eco-friendly leather industrial city to boost export

  To boost the export of leather and leather products, the second top export sector in the country, the tannery industrial city in Savar should be developed as an environmentally friendly industry, speakers at a press conference said on Tuesday (14 May).

The press conference was organised to highlight the upcoming seminar on the leather industry scheduled for 16 May in the capital.

Ishrat Shabnam, programme manager for Private Sector, Social Protection, and Green Energy Transition at the Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh, said, "In FY23, $1,223.62 million was exported from the sector. The government is targeting export earnings of $12-13 billion by 2030 from leather and leather products."

"An eco-friendly leather industrial city should be developed quickly to increase exports," she said.

To facilitate export of leather products to major global brands, the country's leather industry traders have urged factories to ensure Leather Working Group (LWG) certification.

However, only seven factories in Bangladesh have LWG certification, and currently no tannery factory in Savar has this certificate, despite there being about 140 factories in the area.

Ishrat Shabnam said, "We want to assist tannery factories in Savar to obtain LWG certification under the project. Our aim is to help at least 5-10 factories obtain LWG certification in the next two years."

Speakers at the press conference said that a seminar, titled "National High-Level Dialogue for Greening the Tannery and Leather Sector in Bangladesh", will take place on 16 May in Dhaka at 3:30pm at the Bangabandhu International Convention Center under the project "Building a Sustainable Leather Industry Sector in Bangladesh."

The project is a joint initiative of the Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health, and Environment (OSHE) Foundation and Prokriti O Jibon Foundation (POJF), led by Solidar Suisse, and funded by the European Union.

Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury will be the chief guest at the dialogue. Higher officials, including secretaries from several government ministries, high-level representatives from the EU, tannery owners, workers' leaders, academics, development partners, local administrations, environmental organisations, and media personnel, will also attend the seminar.

The Chairman of the Prokriti O Jibon Foundation, Muqeed Majumdar Babu, said, "The national dialogue aims to address the way forward, challenges, and action plan for reducing environmental pollution caused by excessive waste generation in the Savar Tannery Estate."

"It will also raise awareness among tannery owners on environmental compliance to gain increased access to the global market, and explore ways to build a stronger, cleaner, and more compliant tannery sector," he added.

He said the dialogue will also emphasise collective action and the implementation of effective solutions to manage excess waste in the Tannery Estate during Eid-ul-Adha.

OSHE Foundation Chairperson Saki Rezwanas said, "The Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) of the leather industrial city has the capacity to treat 25,000-30,000 cubic metres of liquid waste. However, during Eid al-Adha, the amount of waste increases to 40,000-45,000 cubic metres due to more raw hides."

"During this time, chemical-laden water overflows, damaging the environment and leading to various diseases among workers," added.

She went on to say, "We are raising awareness on how to preserve leather."

Responding to a question, Solidar Suisse Country Representative Muhammad Amanullah said the project "Building a Sustainable Leather Industry Sector in Bangladesh" was initiated in 2023. 

The project duration is three years with an expenditure of Tk13-14 crore. Around 6,540 stakeholders across the country will be engaged in this project to promote sustainable industries, he added.