Surat: SGCCI, CEE, SGTPA and UNEP held a meeting to create a sustainable textile centre. Loktej Surat, Business News

South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Center for Environment Education (CEE), South Gujarat Textile Processors Association (SGTPA), South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) at Samhati, Sarsana, Surat. Held a joint meeting on ‘Creating Sustainable Textile Hub’. When the Sustainability Project of Surat Textile Cluster has been extended by UNEP for the next four years, a detailed discussion was held in the meeting on what targets can be achieved under this project and what operations will be done for it.

Chamber of Commerce President Ramesh Vaghasia welcomed everyone in the meeting and said, ‘At present pollution has spread in every corner of the world. As a responsible citizen, it is our duty to take important steps to protect the environment. He appealed that all industrialists and citizens will have to work together to give a pollution-free life to the new generation.

Giving information, he said that the Chamber and the US under Mission 84. An MoU has been signed between Green Building Council to make India net zero emission by the year 2070, he said that under zero emission programs will be made in various industries of South Gujarat towards not causing further harm to the environment. . Besides, industrialists will be given information about various technologies.

Claudia Giacovelli, Program Officer, United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), said, ‘UNEP has extended the Surat Textile Cluster Sustainability Project for another four years from December 2023 to September 2027. In which the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and UNEP work together and CEE Ahmedabad is given the responsibility of implementation. In which SGCCI and SGTPA are working together.

He explained the concept of 8R to the entrepreneurs to make Surat a sustainable textile hub. 8R stands for Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Repurpose and Recycle. Using which Surat can be made a sustainable textile centre.

He told the businessmen that in the coming days compliance with Product Environmental Footprint is being made mandatory in Europe, hence if any product is exported to Europe, information about Product Environmental Footprint will be mandatory. What is the competitiveness of the product exported to Europe in the future, what is its environmental footprint? It will be based on that.

Under the Surat Textile Cluster Sustainability Project, UNEP will inform the textile industry of Surat about its compliance and provide the necessary understanding that their products will be made as per the European Environmental Footprint norms. If there is financial need in the programs to be implemented in this context, funds will also be obtained from the International Finance Corporation. He said that the Textiles Ministry will help the Government of India.

Jitendra Vakharia, president of South Gujarat Textile Processors Association, said, ‘Surat is the first city in India to use sewage treated water to make fabric in the textile sector. The process of disposal of solid waste generated from the textile sector in some areas of the city has been done using German technology.

At the end of the discussion in this meeting, 50 percent of the total water used in the textile industry of the city will be treated and reused in the next four years. Surat being the MMF centre, large fabric collection centers will be set up at various locations in the Surat textile cluster to increase re-use of textiles to promote circularity. Whereas in the green energy sector, a target has been set to achieve 50 percent of the total electricity consumption in the textile industry through renewable energy during the next four years.

The entire meeting was conducted by Tushar Jani, Senior Program Director, Environmental Education Centre. On this occasion, Chamber Vice President Vijay Mewawala, then former President Himanshu Bodawala, Honorary Treasurer Kiran Thummar, Chamber’s Environment Committee Advisor Vatsal Nayak and textile industrialists were present. At the end of the meeting, UNEP Program Officer Claudia Giacovelli interacted with the entrepreneurs and decided on a roadmap, which will be reported to the Ministry. Ashish Gujarati, former president of the Chamber of Commerce, concluded the meeting by thanking all the attendees.