Can we decouple business growth from climate impacts? This is the thorny question that no politician wants to answer right now, and it is easy to understand why.

As a clothing manufacturer, there are a great many legal and regulatory hoops I must jump through in order to remain in operation without falling foul of the law.

The US government has passed well-documented “anti-dumping laws” aimed at providing a level playing field and protection for the local industries.

Recently I wrote about how Bangladesh’s RMG industry needs to move towards renewable energy in order to gain a global competitive advantage in garment production. Here I want to look at some of the challenges our industry faces in its shift to renewable and cleaner energy, and how to overcome these challenges.

Competitive advantage comes in many different shapes and forms. Product quality, speed, flexibility and, of course, price. All have their place in influencing whether a company should choose one supplier over another.

To grow and fulfil its potential in the coming years, I believe Bangladesh’s RMG industry needs to adapt when it comes to management.

If one were to read the international media, one might be given the impression that Bangladesh is a wasteland, when we all know that it is anything but.

Around the world, the issue of human rights due diligence in global supply chains is rapidly rising up the agenda. But what does this mean and how will it impact garment manufacturers in Bangladesh?

After all the talk of “bouncing back better” in our industry during the past 18-months, we are still failing the people who make our clothes.

In Bangladesh, we are missing a trick by failing to capitalise on a resource which could super-charge our RMG industry into a bold new era. What resource? Female leaders and executives. Look at the world’s most successful economies and you will find that one of the most defining features is the prevalence of females in positions of leadership and management. This rule also applies for the world’s top businesses.

The RMG industry’s challenges are too big to solve at the individual level.

We make clothing in Bangladesh, and we do it exceedingly well. But how good are we at marketing and selling this clothing?

Cotton is the lifeblood of the Bangladesh RMG industry, with our country among the world’s four largest users of this miracle fibre. The other three are China, India and Pakistan, the latter two of which also have large home textile markets.

Inter-national donors have played a key role in the development of the Bangladesh economy in recent years. Many global donors have huge purse strings and are often able to fund projects that otherwise might not get off the ground.

We all knew the global pandemic would change the business world in some way but, until recently, it has been difficult to pinpoint precisely how. For many of us, the past 16 months have been a fight to remain competitive above all else. Indeed, for some, it has been a fight for survival.

What makes a successful year for a business? The traditional way we define business success is through financials. With public companies, each quarter we receive an update, as well as an annual update. This tells us about revenues and profits as well as dividends payable to shareholders.

Bangladesh apparel industry stands at a critical juncture. The industry has achieved significant improvements in safety and is making steady strides in sustainability.

In my last article in The Daily Star, I wrote that Bangladesh needs to urgently act to retain the GSP+ facility post-LDC status.

This February, Bangladesh received the endorsement of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy (UNCDP) regarding its final timeline for exiting the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) group. Bangladesh is now scheduled to leave the LDC category in 2026.

We are seeing a growing number of brands, retailers and manufacturers setting climate targets at present. In many cases they are establishing science-based targets aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.