The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are known as the Global Goals, that was adopted by all the member states of the United Nations in the year of 2015.
It is a universal call to action with a vision to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all the people enjoy peace and prosperity by the end of 2030.
There 17 SDGs goals and built upon 3 pillars: social, economic, and environmental sustainability. They have a strong focus on improving disadvantaged populations so that “no one is left behind”.
With this pledge, the GoB has identified 39+1 indicators known as National Priority Indicators (NPIs) that are derived from the 17 SDG goals to fast track the development of this country.
The RMG industry has been making an immense contribution to the socio-economic development of Bangladesh. BGMEA took an initiative to encourage voluntary self-reporting of its member factories. Posh Garments being one of the oldest and socially responsible ready-made manufacturing factories, came forward to take lead and is continuing to do so to achieve sustainable development goals.
On 28 March 2021, the event titled ‘A PATHWAY TO MANAGE PRIVATE SECTOR IMPACT on Bangladesh National Priority Indicators (NPIs) & Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’ was held.
It was a private event and had 60 participants. The event was graced by the speeches of distinguished guests, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Bangladesh and the chair of the event, and comprised of a keynote presentation, certificate giving and crest giving session.
A certificate of appreciation was awarded to Posh Garments by the Honorable Prime Minister’s Office, UNDP, BGMEA & GRI for contributing to the achievement of the Bangladesh National Priority Indicators (NPIs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through sustainability self-reporting.
With the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) & SR Asia, 47 factories including Posh Garments in Bangladesh were brought under the umbrella of SDGs self-reporting.
We need to sustain the efforts and align the industry with the SDGs and NPIs set by The Government of Bangladesh.
As per the 8th Fifth Year Plan of the Government of Bangladesh, the private sector’s contribution is about 75%. On the other hand, according to the SDG Financing Strategy, the Government requires the private sector to contribute approximately USD 1 trillion for turning the 2030 SDGs into a reality.
But, the impacts of the RMG industry on the SDGs have not been reported to date. Posh Garments acknowledged the importance of such reporting and conducted a consolidated study for measuring and managing the private sector’s impacts on Bangladesh National Priority Indicators and Sustainable Development Goals which also spells out significant policy recommendations, as well as acts as a way forward to our continuous, strive for making the Government’s 2030 SDGs a reality.
The RMG industry consisting of Posh Garments and other BGMEA members significantly contributes to 9 SDGs:
SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all of all ages
SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education
SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all
SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production
SDG 13: Climate action
Posh Garment’s first objective was to measure and manage the RMG industry’s impact on SDGs and NPIs, identify its achievements, challenges, and gaps in a consolidated manner as well as propose policy recommendations for the Government.
The intention was to recognize and certify the factories that have successfully measured and managed their impact of NPIs and SDGs. We will surely scale up self-reporting and incentivize not only the RMG sector but also the significant contributors of the private sector.
Finally, we are delighted to inform the concerned stakeholders both domestic and international that we have successfully developed a study approach that can easily be translated to the languages of SDGs, NPIs, as well as GRI Standards, UNDP’s inclusive Business Standards, and HIGG Index.
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