RBH to strengthen human rights at RMG industry

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has opened Responsible Business Hub (RBH) aiming to strengthen human rights and environmental due diligence in the country’s readymade garments (RMG) industry. 

Supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the RBH will serve as an information center in order to raise awareness and provide guidance to manufacturing companies on the standards and requirements of Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD). 

In a press statement, the BGMEA stated that the RBH will support garment factories in strengthening their capacities to adapt and comply with new regulations and reporting requirements with regard to due diligence and sustainability. It will also assist companies’ intent to integrate environmental and human rights due diligence in their operations in order to prevent and address the negative impacts of business activities on people and the environment.

The opening ceremony, held at BGMEA office on Sunday (June 11), was attended by BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Germany in Dhaka Jan Janowski, Vice President of BKMEA Fazlee Shamim Ehsan and BGMEA director Abdullah Hil Rakib, among others.

A keynote speech by Reinhard Junker, Deputy Head of Division Sustainable Supply Chains, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), highlighted the features of the new initiative.

BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim said BGMEA has taken the sustainability vision 2030 in order to make the industry economically viable through innovation, digitization, and diversification while prioritizing ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance).

Stressing that unified guidelines accepted by and for all the players in the global supply chain will be more functional when we talk about emerging due diligence, Azim said “Too many rules regarding compliance necessities are coming to us from time to time on the same issue does really not working.”