SOLshare, a Bangladeshi climate-tech company, and Bestseller, a global family-owned fashion company, have joined forces to establish Greener Garments Initiative Ltd, an energy service company (Esco) to build, own and operate up to 10MW of solar rooftop projects across several Bestseller's suppliers in Bangladesh.
Under this new initiative, the two entities have already signed their first agreement for a 558 kilowatts peak (kWp) solar rooftop installation project with Body Fashion Limited for their Gazipur factory, said a press release.
SOLshare installs rooftop panel At KCL NarayanganjThe two entities will develop and set up the rooftop solar project, which will enable Body Fashion Limited at Gazipur's Naojur to reduce their monthly utility bill and support a greener supply chain.
The 558 kWp solar rooftop installation project for Body Fashion Limited (BFL) Naojur, Kodda Gazipur marks the first project of the newly established joint venture, with many more to come in the following months, the release also said.
Shortly after, the Greener Garments Initiative also signed their second agreement with Hydroxide Knitwear Ltd. for a 270 kWp net metered solar rooftop installation on their factory in Mouchak, Gazipur.
SOLshare's previous solar rooftop installation customers include Unilever, Knit Concern Limited, IRIS Garments, and The British High Commission Dhaka.
The Greener Garments Initiative aims to roll out solar photovoltaic rooftop installations on a multi-megawatt scale across Bestseller's suppliers. Solar PV rooftop has become the default choice for the garment industry in Bangladesh because it is profitable and it is green, said Dr. Sebastian Groh, managing director and co-founder of SOLshare.
“We're very aware that the vast majority of our total climate footprint is from our indirect value chain, and therefore it's crucial the factories we collaborate with also have better opportunities to use renewable energy. With this initiative, we want to strengthen our suppliers' opportunity to invest in more sustainable solutions for the benefit of their own companies, their local communities, our business and the entire green transition," said Anders Holch Povlsen, CEO and owner of Bestseller.
On Friday, Eshrat Waris, director of product and business at SOLshare, and Fariha Ahmed of Body Fashion Limited, attended the Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony 2022 held at the MGM Music Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.
The event was attended by the Prince William and the Princess of Wales along with Earthshot Prize Council Members Christiana Figueres, Indra Nooyi, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, and Naoko Yamazaki, and a host of artists and advocates including Annie Lennox, Billie Eilish, David Beckham, Ellie Goulding and Rami Malek.
