AKP Phnom Penh, Switch Garment, together with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC) kicked off this month a series of energy audits which will take place in garment factories across Cambodia, according to a press release issued this week.
The Switch Garment energy audits will analyse the energy intensity of garment manufacturers’ facilities and identify opportunities for cost savings and production optimisation.
Under Switch Garment, the audits will serve to inform clean energy investment by factories and to identify factories’ training needs to strengthen sustainable energy practices.
Faced with pressures from international buyers to reduce environmental footprints, 30 factories have signed up as partners in the Switch Garment programme to date; while 20 more will be recruited later this year.
“International brands that buy from garment factories in Cambodia now focus heavily on sustainability due to growing environmental awareness of consumers and the sector must keep up with the trend to remain competitive,” said Mr. Ly Tek Heng, GMAC General Manager, who has been leading the engagement with factories on these audits.
On joining in the first cohort of factories for the Switch Garment programme, Mr. Robert Hwang, Managing Director of PPSEC said, “High electricity costs and growing sustainability requirements from buyers are significant challenges for factories in Cambodia. We have joined the Switch Garment programme because good energy management is important to remain competitive in the market.”
Launched on Sept. 11, 2020, Switch Garment is a joint venture between the GMAC, the Seoul-headquartered treaty-based international organisation Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and French NGO Geres-Cambodia.
The project is funded by the EU through the Switch-Asia programme.
According to the World Bank, the global fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of annual global carbon emissions. In Cambodia, GGGI estimates that improved energy practices in garment production can reduce GHG emissions reductions from the sector by 17 percent.
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press