Businesses can no longer grow at the cost of environment: stakeholders

Businesses should no longer grow by causing damage to the environment as Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to climate change, which ultimately hampers business activities by bringing natural calamities, stakeholders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs have said.

"Businesses can no longer grow at the cost of the environment. That is why we have the highest number of green factories in the world. Among the 100 top global green factories, Bangladesh has 55," Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said at the second of the climate series events titled "Together for Climate" Wednesday (21 June).

At the event organised by the HSBC Limited, in collaboration with the Dhaka North City Corporation, Dhaka North Mayor Md Atiqul Islam said, "Around 2,000 people migrate to Dhaka every day due to the increasing climate change, floods, cyclones, and sea level rise in different parts of Bangladesh. City residents are experiencing the adverse effects of climate."

"In such a situation, everyone must act responsibly to protect Dhaka city's environment. The Dhaka North has taken various eco-friendly initiatives, such as reclaiming reservoirs, and constructing parks and playgrounds for this purpose."

He also said, "It is important that we work hand-in-hand with the private sector, development partners, and the public to come up with innovative solutions to build sustainable cities."

At the programme, Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Jeremy Bruer reinstated the Australia government's commitments to achieve net-zero carbon emission by 2050.

As a part of HSBC's sustainability efforts, the bank urged the key stakeholders to work together and deliver innovative solutions to mitigate climate change.

HSBC Bangladesh CEO Md Mahbub ur Rahman said, "As people and nature are intricately woven together, a delicate balance is much needed to make the ecosystem thrive. To maintain such balance, each of us has to do our part responsibly and take climate centric actions.

"I believe our united efforts will help drive sustainability transformation focusing on the 3As – awareness, adaptation and action."

The event also focused on topics such as "Embracing Glass towards a Circular Economy", "Future of Fashion: a closer look on Sustainability", "Local Leadership" and "Global Reach".

Javier Santonja, country head of Inditex, Amyn Saleh, managing director and chief executive officer of Bengal Glass, Philip Fellowes, chief of staff of HSBC Asia Pacific, covered those issues in their speeches.

Anadil Johnson, founder and designer of Neval, also spoke at the event.

HSBC Bangladesh has made significant contributions to sustainability by prioritising environmental responsibility and integrating sustainability into its core business practices. The bank has pioneered many sustainable financial solutions in the market such as Sustainability Linked Loan (SLL), Social Loan, etc.

The bank has also set an ambitious target to become a net-zero carbon emission company by 2030.