The project, funded by the United Nations Environment Programme and Global Environment Facility, aims to mitigate the use and release of hazardous chemicals in Pakistan’s textile sector.
KARACHI, Pakistan (TW) – Today, the International Labour Organization (ILO) launched a new project on “Environmental Sustainability through Chemical Management” (ESCM) that will collaborate with 10 Textile Mills in Karachi to pilot a capacity building programme for sound chemical management, focused on reducing occupational hazards from chemicals of concern and Persisent Organic Pollutants (POPs), while ensuring environmental sustainability.
The ESCM project aligns with the ILO’s commitment to a just transition with safer, more equitable, and decent workplaces within the textile industry, while also adopting international labour standards, particularly focusing on Occupational Safety and Health. Through collaboration with national partners, the initiative seeks to raise awareness about the ILO Chemical Convention 1990 (No.170) and advocate for policy reforms to ensure compliance with international labor standards.
The launch was attended by multiple stakeholders including representatives from the Federal Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment Coordination, the Living Indus Initiative, other provincial government departments, employers’ and workers’ organizations. The event was followed by a stakeholder consultation where the participants deliberated on strategies to amplify the project’s impact and foster industry-wide adherence to global best practices in chemical management. The project is currently active in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia and Pakistan.
Geir Tonstol, Country Director for ILO Pakistan said “the project on chemical waste management not only complements ILO’s factory improvement programs dedicated to enhancing compliance, notably under the GSP Plus framework, but also strengthens the holistic approach of ILO towards productivity, compliance, human resource development, and just transitions for climate change.”
He added that this comprehensive initiative underscores ILO’s commitment to fostering sustainable practices in supply chains while advocating for climate resilience and social justice.
Maria Beatriz Mello da Cunha, ILO Specialist on the Textile, Leather, Footwear and Garments Sector, emphasized that “it is essential that through this pilot project we design a capacity building programme on the ILO Code of Practice for Safety and Health in the Textiles Industries, so that Occupaitonal Safety and Health deficits from chemicals and hazardous materials can be reduced.”
With support from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), and in coordination with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, the project will engage ILO’s tripartite constituents, project partners, and stakeholders in an active process of both policy and technical interventions in the sector. The project will also serve as a platform to develop synergies and foster knowledge-sharing on workplace safety.