Bangladesh’s garment industry needs USD 6.6 billion in investment to reach 50% decarbonisation by 2030, according to research from the Apparel Impact Institute presented at a roundtable in Dhaka last week on the sector’s shifting energy landscape.
HSBC, the Apparel Impact Institute, the Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka and the Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh convened the session, drawing government officials, global brands, manufacturers, financial institutions and development partners. Talks focused on how the country can accelerate access to reliable, competitive clean energy, now a growing driver of both compliance and competitiveness as international markets raise sustainability requirements.
The Apparel and Textile Transformation Initiative (ATTI) and its Bangladesh chapter joined the roundtable. Speakers included Vidiya Amrit Khan, vice president of Brand BGMEA and president of ATTI Bangladesh, and Kamran Sadique, managing director of MBM Group, who co-chairs the Brand BGMEA Decarbonisation Committee and chairs ATTI Bangladesh. Olivia Windham Stewart, ATTI’s initiative director, moderated.
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Other figures leading ATTI’s Bangladesh work also attended, including Rafia Anowar, Maisha Khan, Faiaz Rahman and Sajjadul Alam, alongside supporting brands and initiatives. Organisers thanked HSBC’s Syeda Afzalun Nessa, Naziba Naila Wafa and Ishrat Jahan Ikra, plus Kristina Elinder Liljas and Dr. Laxmikant Jawale of the Apparel Impact Institute, Stefani G. Bernardo of Development Finance International, and Olle Lundin and Tazeen Monir Choudhury of the Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka.
The $6.6 billion figure highlights the scale of the financing gap facing Bangladesh’s apparel sector, one of the world’s largest garment exporters, as it comes under growing pressure from international buyers to cut manufacturing emissions. Energy access has become a central bottleneck, with manufacturers citing the cost and reliability of clean power as key constraints on meeting decarbonisation targets set by government policy and brand sourcing requirements alike.
ATTI said further updates on its Bangladesh programme would follow in the coming weeks, without detailing planned initiatives or funding mechanisms to close the gap.
The roundtable reflects a wider push by financial institutions and development agencies to mobilise capital for clean energy transitions in garment-producing countries, where decarbonisation costs are increasingly seen as a shared responsibility between manufacturers, brands and financiers rather than one borne solely by suppliers.
Bangladesh’s apparel sector employs millions of workers and remains central to the national economy, making the pace of its transition to cleaner energy a significant factor in whether the industry can retain its competitive position with buyers that are tightening emissions requirements across their supply chains.