World Wildlife Fund Pakistan (WWF-P) and All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) have agreed to carry out awareness sessions to reduce the carbon footprint of the textile industry. The agreement has also made provisions for cooperation between the two organizations to work on waste water reduction and capacity building under an EU-funded 7 million-euro NAMA project. The agreement was reached when a delegation of WWF-P visited the Northern office of APTMA.

During the occasion, Director of Freshwater Programme WWF-P Sohail Ali Naqvi said that the textile industry needs to adopt innovative solutions to reduce the waste water produced during the production process. He said, “adoption of innovative methods is important to reduce adverse environmental impacts, provide cost-saving opportunities and enhance overall revenue of the industry.”

He continued, “the current project has been launched by WWF-Pakistan under its 6-year ‘International Labour and Environmental Standards Application in Pakistan’s SMEs (ILES)’ project, funded by the European Union.” He informed that the project has been implemented in four cities across the country, which included Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Sialkot.

“The main objective of the project is to help Pakistan increase its exports by meeting the international standards of compliance,” he said. He said that the textile sector is one of the most efficient sectors of Pakistani industry, adding that it creates millions of jobs around the country.

Sohail Naqvi said that the ILES project is striving hard to build the capacity of the public and private partners, providing them with necessary technical support to achieve sustainable industrial growth. He said that the industry would be provided with low interest loans under the programme to improve sustainability practices, adding that larger national banks have agreed to finance the initiative under the WWF-P umbrella.

Senior Vice Chairman of APTMA Kamran Arshad appreciated the efforts of WWF-P and hoped that it would also play its part in the readmission of Pakistan in the GSP+ scheme. He also urged the visiting WWF delegation to suggest solutions, besides sharing data for the spinning and weaving sectors in line with the best international practices.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk