The government is now mulling to impose tax on the use of groundwater for industrial purposes, environment, forest and climate change affairs adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan said on Tuesday.
She revealed this while addressing the opening plenary session of the Sustainable Apparel Forum 2025 as the chief guest.
The programme was organised by the Bangladesh Apparel Exchange in partnership with the Netherlands Embassy in Dhaka.
The adviser said that the government would categorise industries based on water consumption and would offer incentives for recycling initiatives.
She said that groundwater was now free for the industries, but extremely water-intensive ones would have to start paying for extracting groundwater.
She said that many industrial zones were now experiencing declining groundwater levels. 鈥業t has been affecting local communities who rely on groundwater for their everyday needs.鈥�
She also said that they would provide incentives for recycling activities and wanted to engage with businesses to ensure that they would use less water, recycle it, and reuse the water.
鈥楾he garment sector is water-intensive, and it is very crucial that they choose less water-intensive production processes and ensure reuse by removing extra pressure on the aquifer,鈥� she said.
She also said that the energy supply shortages in the past two years have severely impacted industries, making sustainable energy solutions necessary for both the country and the sector.
鈥楬aving green factories or the highest number of environmentally certified factories does not automatically mean that the sector is operating sustainably,鈥� she added.
She revealed that the government, in collaboration with German partners, was working on a Chemical Waste Management Rule, which was expected to be finalised soon.
She said that labour should not be cheap and added that sustainability must be a shared responsibility between the producers and the consumers.
鈥業f producers are expected to uphold sustainability, they must receive support to ensure fair wages. Expecting cheap products and demanding fair wages is unrealistic. Both importers and exporters must collaborate on sustainable business practices, ensuring costs are shared rather than overburdening small businesses,鈥� she added.
She said that fair trade was essential for long-term sustainability.
The European Union ambassador to Bangladesh, Michael Miller, said that the EU鈥檚 work on competitiveness and decarbonisation was core.
The EU is focused on promoting development and Industrial strategies that align with global best practices and target sustainable development components, he added.
The Netherlands鈥� ambassador to Bangladesh, Andre Carstens, said that Bangladesh鈥檚 RMG sector had made remarkable progress in areas such as green factories.
However, challenges related to resource management, transition to renewable energy, and supply chain transparency still remain in the sector, he said.
鈥榃e strongly support our mission to raise awareness, standardize sustainability goals, and enhance circularity and traceability,鈥� he added.
Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud bin Harun, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, and Mostafiz Uddin, the founder and CEO of Bangladesh Apparel Exchange, also addressed the opening event.
Among others, Rising Group managing director Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu, Team Group managing director Abdullah Hil Rakib, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association president Showkat Aziz Russell, and Evince Group managing director Anwarul Alam Chowdhury Parvez also spoke at the panel discussion- 1 titled 鈥楤angladesh 2040: The Roadmap for a Resilient and Sustainable Apparel Sector.鈥�
Foreign secretary (west) M Riaz Hamidullah moderated the panel discussion on sustainability, renewable energy, and other issues.