Pakistan has joined eight countries — Cambodia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago — to address the pressing environmental impacts of the fashion and construction industries.
The initiative, part of the Global Environment Facility GEF-funded “Integrated Program on Eliminating Hazardous Chemicals from Supply Chains”, focuses on transforming the fashion and construction sectors, which are among the largest contributors to pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, land degradation, and biodiversity loss.
The six-year $45 million program seeks to revolutionize supply chains in these industries by promoting sustainable practices, enhancing resource efficiency, and minimizing environmental harm.
Over six years, the initiative “will promote regenerative design, the replacement of non-renewable materials, resource-efficient production, responsible purchasing behavior, and improved post-use collection.”
Funding: The $340 million initiative, which includes $45 million from the GEF-funded program and an additional $295 million from other sources, aims to transform supply chains in the fashion and construction sectors with sustainable practices and materials.
Led by UNEP in collaboration with FAO, UNDP, and UNIDO, the program will focus on improving policies, fostering innovation, engaging stakeholders, and enhancing access to sustainable financing. Efforts will also emphasize empowering women, youth, and indigenous communities, integrating traditional knowledge, and revitalizing local economies.
GEF CEO and Chairperson, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez said: “We are proud to support bold leadership in the fashion and construction industries in pursuit of supply chains with fewer dangerous chemicals and lower carbon footprints. The needs here reflect how connected the world’s environmental challenges are, and how the GEF’s integrated approach to addressing pollution, climate change, and nature loss can be transformative — with fast, tangible results at the needed scale.”
Which countries are involved in the initiative?
The game-changing initiative includes nine country-specific projects in the following countries, alongside a global coordination project:
- Pakistan
- Mongolia
- Costa Rica
- Ecuador
- Cambodia
- India
- Peru
- India
- Trinidad and Tobago
Costa Rica’s Vice Minister of Energy, Ronny Rodríguez Chaves, highlighted the potential of using low-carbon cement and biobased materials such as mycelium and wood in construction. “As a nation committed to sustainability, we are proud to lead efforts to transform the construction sector,” he said. “This program will help Costa Rica become a global leader in sustainable construction by focusing on access to finance and incentives.”
Why this initiative was needed?
The fashion and construction industries are chemical-intensive sectors with complex global supply chains.
- These two industries that connect global producers, retailers, and consumers significantly contribute to environmental degradation. For instance, the building and construction sector is the largest consumer of chemicals, producing 1kg of textiles requires 0.58kg of various chemicals.
- The textile and garment sector is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, accounting for an estimated 6 to 8 percent of total emissions. This translates to approximately 1.7 billion tons of carbon emissions annually.
- Textile production is estimated to account for approximately 20% of global water pollution, primarily due to the dyeing and finishing processes.
- The textile sector largely follows a linear model: non-renewable resources are extracted to produce clothes, which are often used briefly before being discarded, typically ending up in landfills or incinerated. Over US$500 billion in value is lost annually due to clothing underutilization and the lack of recycling, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
The GEF program targets a holistic transformation of supply chains to address pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss — the three pillars of the “triple planetary crisis.” Approved by the GEF Council in June 2023, these country-level projects are set to be launched between 2025 and 2031.
Program goals
The program aims to transform every stage of the two supply chains through initiatives such as redesigning carnival fashion in Trinidad and Tobago, piloting of green building certification and fashion eco-labelling schemes in Cambodia, establishing artisanal brick kilns in Ecuador, and transforming banana pseudo-stem waste into economically viable and socially beneficial fiber in Pakistan.
- The program aims to reduce GHG emissions by six million tons and prevent 18,750 tons of hazardous chemicals from entering ecosystems. Persistent organic pollutants will also be curtailed, improving air quality.
- It plans to restore 825,000 hectares of land and ecosystems are expected to be restored, benefiting approximately two million people worldwide by 2031.
- The program will strengthen South-South cooperation and regional collaboration, the initiative aspires to transform the fashion and construction industries from environmental hazards into drivers of positive global change.
- At the heart of this initiative is the empowerment of women, youth, and local communities, particularly through the integration of indigenous knowledge and the identification of sustainable materials and practices to create new economic opportunities.
The integrated approach, combining efforts to reduce pollution, combat climate change, and restore nature, represents a significant step towards global environmental change.