Industry experts, academics and students gathered at a university auditorium on Saturday to discuss how Bangladesh’s ready-made garment (RMG) sector can integrate sustainability across its supply chains amid growing global expectations and environmental challenges.
Organized by the Marketing Discipline under the Department of Business Administration at Stamford University Bangladesh, the event focused on “Supply Chain Sustainability Integration: Practices in the RMG Sector in Bangladesh.” Vice Chancellor Professor Dr. Sharif N A Saber attended as the chief guest.
Delivering the keynote address, ABM Faqrul Alam, group sustainability lead at Urmi Group, highlighted key sustainability challenges and opportunities in the sector, focusing on emissions management, traceability and the realities of data collection, while underscoring the evolving global landscape and rising stakeholder expectations.
The panel featured Monower Hossain, head of sustainability at Team Group; Mashook Chowdhury, senior manager (sustainability) at DBL Group; Saydul Arefin, programme coordinator at the PROGRESS Project of Swisscontact; Md Omar Faruq, senior adviser (capacity building) at ALDI; and Farjana Yasmin, climate change and environment specialist. The discussion was moderated by Md Rabiul Kabir, associate professor at Stamford University Bangladesh and an ESG specialist.
Panelists discussed environmental compliance, ethical sourcing and end-to-end supply chain management — from raw material cultivation to product disposal — and stressed the importance of capacity-building initiatives and cross-sector collaboration in advancing sustainable practices in the RMG industry.
One panelist said the future of the RMG sector depends on how effectively sustainability is embedded across the entire value chain and stressed the need for proactive engagement from all stakeholders.
The event concluded with an interactive question-and-answer session, where students asked panelists about career opportunities and future prospects in sustainability.
Faculty members from the Department of Business Administration also attended the programme.
In his closing remarks, the vice chancellor thanked the speakers, organisers and participants for their contributions and highlighted the importance of such initiatives in shaping responsible business leaders.
Souvenir crests were presented to the panelists as tokens of appreciation, before the programme ended with a formal vote of thanks from the department head.
