Newsletter 2

Implementation of environmental management

systems and eco-labelling schemes in the SMEs of
the leather sector in Bangladesh

This project is funded by

The European Union
 Implementation of environmental management systems and eco-labelling schemes in
the SMEs of the leather sector in Bangladesh

The ECOLEBAN Project, funded by the European Commission under the Switch Asia Programme, has an overall
duration of 48 months (from March 2014 to February 2018).

The overall objective of the ECOLEBAN Project is to enhance the resource efficiency and sustainability of the
leather sector in Bangladesh throughout the whole value chain of the leather related products such as footwear
and other leather goods.

The spected
Results of the
action are
showed on the
figure as well as
the activities to
achieve them.

We are pleased to welcome to our second newlsletter. From the moment we took our first meeting on June 2014 in
Dhaka, the project has continued with different activities. On the next pages you can read about them. For a better
understanding , the different activities have been separated according to their contribution to the expected results .

NEWSLETTER 2December 2015 2

 Implementation of environmental management systems and eco-labelling schemes in
the SMEs of the leather sector in Bangladesh

ACTIVITIES FOR THE RESULT 1

The analysis of the Bangladeshi leather value chain is currently being carried out. The objective of this first
activity has been to develop a diagnosis study of the whole leather manufacturing process in Bangladesh using
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approaches. It has been identified those stages, processes, actions, practices,
etc. that are critical because of their environmental, economic or social impact (the so called, hotspots).

The diagnosis study has been conducted by analyzing carefully, in close collaboration with the local partners
and their associates, every stage of the leather manufacturing process, for which several visits and meetings
has been programmed with the different SMEs involved at each stage.

In order to gather the necessary information for the

report on the leather goods value chain under LCA,
data from manufacturers and Tanneries have been
collected. This data inventory compiled has been
modelled by means of SimaPro software. ReCiPe
method has been selected for the impact
assessment.

The leather industry is a big contributor in foreign

exchange earnings for the country. In fact, leather
and leather products are the second main export
commodities in Bangladesh. Recent export trends
indicate that the footwear sector (value added
merchandise), is growing the fastest. Next figure
shows that the performance with regard to
footwear is increasing substantially

NEWSLETTER 2December 2015 3

 Implementation of environmental management systems and eco-labelling schemes in
the SMEs of the leather sector in Bangladesh

Once identified the main impacts on the sustainability caused by the leather sector, the next activity, the
elaboration of the guideline of with the best SCP practices, has been started, .

For this, several events has been organized in Dhaka, inviting to more than 200 experts belonging to the
different areas of interest of the action, such as manufacturing SMEs, Engineerings, Consultancies, Policy-
makers, etc.

RT 1 SCP Tanneries: A Round Table on SCP Tanneries was held on 15th September, 2015 at Jing Ling
Chinese Restaurant (Dhanmondi) in Dhaka.

RT 2 SCP footwear/leathergoods: A Round Table on SCP Footwear/Leathergoods was held on 16th

September at Swiss Garden Hotel (Gulshan) in Dhaka.

Innovative technologies, best practices and environmental issues in the leather sector were explained. In both
RTs different sessions groups were done in order to discuss and work on questions i.e. (i) Which are the most
critical environmental impact? (ii) Which are the most hazardous processes or substances? (iii) Which are the
most critical social impacts and how these environmental impacts can be reduced?. All participants were
engaged to answer to the questions keeping in mind the economic feasibility of the actions and considering a
balance between environmental, social and economic issues.

NEWSLETTER 2December 2015 4

 Implementation of environmental management systems and eco-labelling schemes in
the SMEs of the leather sector in Bangladesh

Workshop on SCP Practices: A workshop on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Practices for the
Leather Sector in Bangladesh was held on 19th September, 2015 at Emmanuelle's Convention Centre in
Dhaka. The Workshop included an overall presentation of the ECOLEBAN Project and Presentation on topics
related to: environmental impacts of the tanneries in Hazaribagh, environmental improvements in SAVAR
facilities; Best Available Technologies and Processes
and their application in the Leather Sector in
Bangladesh;

RT 3 SCP Tanneries. A Round Table on SCP Tanneries was held on 9th November , 2015 at Bangladesh Tanners
in Dhaka. LCA study related to the tanneries was explained, and different environmental impacts concerning
this study were showed. Best Available Techniques (BATs) and Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP)
in Leather Processing were explained. After, different work sessions were made where all the participants took
part and gave their experienced knowledge on questions about environmental impact and how to reduce them.

With all the feedback that we have received we have almost finished the guideline with best SCP Practices to
foster the sustainability of the leather sector.

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 Implementation of environmental management systems and eco-labelling schemes in
the SMEs of the leather sector in Bangladesh

The second activity of this Result 1 is the Implementation of EMS (ISO 14001) in the SMEs of the Leather Sector
in Bangladesh. The SMEs selected for the Environmental Management System implementation and certification
will belong to the three leather industrial associations of Bangladesh (BFLLFEA, BTA, LFMEAB) participating as
partners in the Project Consortium

In order to ensure that the selection of the 20 SMEs will be done in a transparent manner, avoiding any conflict
of interest, a procedure for the selection criteria has been defined.

Three events about the Benefits and Implications of the ISO:14001 in the Bangladeshi Leather Sector was held,
in each of the three associations venues in order to involve all the SMEs in the project.

9th July, 2015 at BTA, Dhaka

1th August, 2015 at LFMEAB COEL Gazipur,

5th December, 2015 at BFLLFEA, Dahaka

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 Implementation of environmental management systems and eco-labelling schemes in
the SMEs of the leather sector in Bangladesh

ACTIVITIES FOR THE RESULT 2

Regarding to the second result of the action Promoted green commercialization and consumption through the
implementation of eco-labelling schemes in the leather footwear sector, our road map for ecolabel development
has been done.

A survey template has been elaborated to gather information concerning the Bangladeshi consumers
perception of eco-products and eco-labelling as well as to gather possible comments/suggestions on the topic.
This survey has been done in two different areas, MarketPlace and University Area.

On the Marketplace area, a total of 240 interviews have been done and shared out into the three
categories, Humble people, medium people and high people

On the University area a total of 110 interviews have been done, 55 for non-technical career and 55 for
technical career.

All the respondents agree on

the following issues:

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 Implementation of environmental management systems and eco-labelling schemes in
the SMEs of the leather sector in Bangladesh

With the same objective as the survey, two workshops has been organized at our office in Dhaka (Bangladesh).

The 1st Consumers perception of Green Products and Ecolabelling Workshop was held on the 29th
November 2015 .

The 2nd Consumers perception of Green Products and Ecolabelling Workshop was held on 5th
December 2015 .

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NEWSLETTER 2December 2015
 Implementation of environmental management systems and eco-labelling schemes in
the SMEs of the leather sector in Bangladesh

In parallel we have been working on the ecolabel design for the Bangladeshi leather footwear. There are a wide
variety of eco-labelling schemes around the world, however we have analyzed those with have among its
product groups, footwear or leather, i.e EU Ecolabel, The Blue Angel, Emblem of Guarantee of Environmental
Quality, Eco-mark (India), Japanese eco-mark etc.

If you want to participate in the ecolabel design process you can visit our web page and fill up the
questionnaire. (http://www.ecoleban.com/documents2/stakeholders-consultation-document)

ACTIVITIES FOR THE RESULT 3

A survey to assess the attitude

of financial institutions towards
sustainability has been
prepared.

We are now visiting differents

Banks and financial institutions
in order to invite them to
participate in our survey.

NEWSLETTER 2December 2015 9

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 Implementation of environmental management systems and eco-labelling schemes in
the SMEs of the leather sector in Bangladesh

ACTIVITIES FOR THE RESULT 4

Our office in Dhaka has been stablished.

We have participated on the Consultative Workshop for the Sustainable Development of the Tannery and
Leather Industry on 30th of August organized by Promotion of Social and Environmental Standards in the
industry (PSES) implemented by GIZ.

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 Implementation of environmental management systems and eco-labelling schemes in
the SMEs of the leather sector in Bangladesh

We have participated in the annual networking event organized by the Switch Asia network. This year a
three-day conference has been held in India during the 4 th to 6Th of November

We have been at LEATHERTECH Bangladesh 2015 congress. LEATHERTECH has established as a

platform for International and domestic Machinery, Chemicals, Accessories & Allied Products
manufacturers and distributors to showcase their latest products and services to the Tanning & Finished
Leather, Footwear and Leather Goods manufacturing industries in Bangladesh.

A three day congress began on Thursday 26th of November where more than 140 exhibitors from 10
countries were participating in the event showing machinery from tanning, manufacturing footwear and
leather goods, dyes and chemicals, and accessories related to the leather industry.

NEWSLETTER 2December 2015 11

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 Learn more about our project visiting our website
www.ecoleban.com

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole
responsibility of the consortium and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

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