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Circular economy to help ensure sustainable business

Experts say on concluding day of Business Summit
STAR BUSINESS REPORT
Bangladesh requires a circular economy to not only safeguard the environment, but also ensure sustainable business in the country, according to various experts and lawmakers.
Circular economies are markets that incentivise the reuse of products through repairing, refurbishing or recycling rather than scrapping them for resources.
Along its journey to become a trillion-dollar economy, Bangladesh should focus on reducing costs related to environmental degradation by designing products for circularity.
Also, the country needs to ensure transparent and sustainable production practices to boost exports.
“A circular economy is not only good for the environment, but also business,” said Saber Hossain Chowdhury, a lawmaker.
“If the transition is not profitable, then no company would invest in it,” he added.
Chowdhury made these remarks while speaking at a panel discussion on the circular economy on the concluding day of the Bangladesh Business Summit at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Dhaka yesterday.
The event was held by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in association with the government as a part of the trade body’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Chowdhury went on to say there is strong government support available in the country for promoting the circular economy.
Yousuf Abdullah Harun, another lawmaker and former president of the FBCCI, stressed on reducing environmental issues and the consumption of available resources to ensure a circular economy.
Regarding the difficulties faced by small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the circular economy, he said the main problem is a lack of proper financing for the transition.
“Banks are very shy about financing non-traditional businesses as they want to be secure, which is a problem for SMEs,” he added.
The use of recycled materials and decarbonisation will be key for the garment sector as such measures may become mandatory for products to get market access in the European Union (EU).
Besides, the garment sector needs access to renewable energy and conducive policies for textile waste recycling, including incentives, to sustain its competitiveness, said Faisal Rabbi, manager of stakeholder engagement and public affairs at H&M Bangladesh.
While delivering the keynote speech, Mosharraf Hossain, a professor at Chittagong University, said most recycling is done by informal sectors.
“As such, there are some middlemen who control the recycling process, leading to illegal and unregulated circular management,” he added.
Shamim Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Association, said they recommend forming a circular economy cell or division to handle government interventions and policymaking in this regard.
He also suggested prioritising recycling with a focus on reusing water and building materials, reducing major waste streams, ensuring safer packaging and sustainable alternatives.
The major waste streams include biomass, plastics, papers, e-waste, metals and so on.
Shamima Akhter, director of corporate affairs at Unilever Bangladesh Limited, insisted on building holistic management for circular business.
“We have to focus on single-use plastic recycling facilities using modern technologies,” she said.
The country now recycles around 37 per cent of its plastic waste, of which only 50 per cent is rigid plastic.
With this backdrop, Akhter urged for technology intervention, saying the country has to bring improved machinery to sort and recycle waste.
Industries like Unilever are committed to using recycled plastic for product packaging but they will need enhancements in the quality of recycled plastic and better testing facilities to ensure world-class standards, she said.
Syed Naved Hussain, CEO and group director of Beximco Textile, said they will go for zero carbon emissions by next year.
Among others, Charles Whiteley, ambassador and head of the EU delegation in Bangladesh, and Eun Joo Allison Yi, senior environmental specialist of the World Bank, also spoke at the event.
Zaki Uz Zaman, country representative of the UN Industrial Development Organization, moderated the discussion.
Along its journey to become a trillion-dollar economy, Bangladesh should focus on reducing costs related to environmental degradation by designing products for circularity