Thirty institutions, including 15 garment factories, have received Green Factory Award 2020 for their contribution to saving the environment and creating employment.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joined the award-giving ceremony virtually as the chief guest. State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian handed over the awards on behalf of the PM in the capital Wednesday.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment launched the "Green Factory Award 2020" this year to encourage local industries to invest in green measures.

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The award-winning institutions include 15 factories from the garment industry, three institutions from the food processing, four from tea, two from leather, three from the plastic and three others from the pharmaceutical sectors.

The garment factories which received the award are Remi Holdings Limited, Tarasima Apparels Limited, Plummy Fashions Limited, Mithela Textile Industries Limited, Vintage Denim Studio Limited, AR Jeans Producer Limited, Karooni Knit Composite Limited, Designer Fashion Limited, Kenpark Bangladesh Apparel Private Limited (Kenpark Unit 2), Green Textile Limited (Unit 3), Four H Dyeing and Printing Limited, Wisdom Attires Limited, Mahmuda Attires Limited, Snowtex Outerwear Limited and Auko-Tex Limited.

Bangladesh has 152 green garment buildings certified as "Leadership in Environmental and Energy in Design (LEED)" by the US Green Building Council.

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Among them 44 factories are platinum rated while 94 are gold rated, 10 are silver. 500 more factories are in the process of achieving LEED certification.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan congratulated the factories on winning the award and expressed appreciation for their efforts to cut carbon emissions and global warming and their commitment to a healthy and sustainable future.

He urged the government to honour all green garment factories in Bangladesh with awards to recognise their contributions to protecting the environment.

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