Half of the signatories to Net Zero Pakistan – which aims for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 – are mills and manufacturers in the denim supply chain. 

For humanity to stand a chance of survival, CO² emissions from man-made activity must reach net zero by 2050: the sobering message from the Net Zero Coalition for Pakistan, and one which is echoed by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable country in terms of experiencing the devastating effects of climate change, despite creating only 0.8% of global emissions, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. Increasingly severe weather patterns, such as droughts, floods and heat waves, are threatening the food and water security for millions; these adverse effects could be disastrous without seismic change and commitment from industries globally.

Last August, non-profit organisation Pakistan Environment Trust (PET) launched Net Zero Pakistan, an alliance of prominent textile, apparel and consumer goods companies committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Long nurtured by members of the UN, the concept is considered a relatively workable guiding principle of international climate action, perhaps easier to disseminate than temperature goals or thresholds (such as the “well below” 2°C global warming figure agreed upon during the 2015  Paris summit). 

Now 22 members strong, Net Zero Pakistan was named an official accelerator programme of the UN’s own Race to Zero campaign in February. Notably, most of its signatures are from the clothing supply chain, and half are denim mills and jeans manufacturers: AGI Denim, Artistic Milliners, Crescent Bahuman, Interloop, Sapphire Textiles, Siddiqsons, Soorty, Sadaqat and US Apparel & Textiles. Coalition signatories have also committed to the periodic disclosure of their GHG emissions and wider environmental footprint, investment in low-carbon technologies and collaboration on an industry-wide decarbonisation framework.

Without commitments from the supply chain, fashion brands will be unable to meet their own emissions or science-based targets (SBTs) and, as a major denim-supplying country, Pakistani mills and manufacturers are aware that some of the onus lies with them. The country’s textile exports for the year ending June 2022 could register their highest levels yet (increasing 40% year on year to around $21 billion), according to government advisor Abdul Razak Dawood, and in 2021, Pakistan passed China to become the third-biggest supplier of denim to the US, worth $390 million, according to the US Office of Textiles and Apparel.

Harnessing the wind

The Pakistani government has not announced a net-zero year but has committed to cutting 50% of projected emissions and achieving 60% renewable energy by 2030. However, much of this hinges on major infrastructure investments and hydroelectricity, with a plan to build 10 big dams in the next 10 years.

Mill and manufacturer Artistic Milliners took matters into its own hands several years ago, setting up renewable energy projects under a spin-off company, Artistic Energy. In 2018, it commissioned a wind farm in the Jhimpir wind corridor, in south-east Pakistan, in collaboration with GE Renewable Energy. Now, these companies generate 100 MW of wind energy for the national grid per year and there are plans to expand into 118 MW of hydropower and add a 50 MW solar park.

“With such tremendous clean energy operations, we felt that there was always a big hiatus when viewed in the context of the country and we wondered how we could inspire other companies to follow this futuristic path,” says Artistic Milliners’ corporate responsibility manager, Syeda Faiza Jamil. “Net Zero Coalition gave us the platform to showcase our example. They are also helping us engage with global leaders, for instance from CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), and to facilitate SBT for our company.”

The vertical manufacturer, which produces 108 million metres of fabric and 30 million garments per year, is classed as climate positive as it offsets 48% more GHG emissions than it emits. “In the short term, the coalition is a vehicle for us for advocacy, a best practice sharing and knowledge platform. In the long term, this momentum will lead to the larger industry committing to climate goals and help us achieve our shared objectives,” adds Ms Jamil.

In a similar vein, Karachi-headquartered Soorty is in the process of setting up an energy production company, NASDA Energy, and commissioning its first 50 MW on-grid wind power unit in Jhimpir. The supplier to Calvin Klein and PVH has also invested in solar projects, installing a 0.9 MW unit at its flagship facility, DenimKind, with plans to add 14 MW more. Its new plant is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, and it is in the process of implementing LEED practices at its other factories. It plans to phase out coal boilers and replace them with biomass boilers by 2027 and has also started to install a recycling plant, which will allow it to recycle 80% of water.

“We are able to exactly pinpoint, through GHG calculations, which processes have the greatest impact on our emissions,” says Mustafa Ahmad, Soorty’s head of climate action. As such, it invested in a zero wastewater dyeing system that eliminates pre-washing and post-washing baths, and an G2 Ozone system. These two processes resulted in dramatic reductions in chemical, energy and water use, he says. 

Investment priorities

All the manufacturers that have joined the Net Zero pledge were already working towards reducing emissions and becoming more sustainable, and some had signed the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and United Nations Global Compact. The Net Zero pledge has been a way of refining and sharpening goals, and for AGI Denim, a catalyst for structuring its investment priorities around climate targets. It has installed 1.8 MW of renewable energy across the organisation and is exploring options to increase this and boost resource efficiency.

“The climate crisis is the defining issue of our age, and AGI is aware that to fight it, we need to redesign the way we do things,” AGI executive director Ahmed Javed tells us, as the company drafts its first sustainability report. “In the short term, it will help us accelerate our sustainability transition by providing established frameworks, immediate goal-setting and capacity-building opportunities to lower our carbon emissions. These steps, taken on a year-to-year basis, will eventually help us in our decarbonisation efforts to meet the net-zero goal by 2050.”

Crescent Bahuman (CBL) also says affiliating with Net Zero Pakistan will focus its sustainability drive. The vertical denim plant was built in the 1990s on previously waterlogged land, transforming it into a green space with over 850,000 trees planted. Before signing the pledge, the business had installed 1.3 MW of solar power and is now finalising an additional 6.7 MW. Energy efficiency and resource conservation will be a deciding factor when investing in new technology.

“We are in the process of buying an energy-efficient air compressor that is the latest technology and probably the first of its kind in Pakistan,” says Zaki Saleemi, CBL’s vice-president. “This compressor will save us a large amount of electricity and subsequently CO2. After that, we are going to replace our old electricity generators with newer and more efficient ones.”

Like the others, Siddiqsons is having its buildings certified by LEED. The group, which began as a denim manufacturer in 1959 and has since expanded into tin and real estate, has installed enough solar energy to replace 20% of its energy needs and plans to increase this to 25%. Its Jeanologia 5.0 sustainable laundry, a recycling effluent treatment plant, electronic vehicle chargers and 100% LED lighting are also helping bring down its energy consumption. It is planning to plant trees in collaboration with WWF, and aiming for zero liquid discharge.

It has also invested in software and is adding production upgrades throughout its facilities. “You can't change what you don’t measure,” explains Siddiqsons CEO Abdur Rahim. “Pakistan is still a developing country and it suffers most significantly from global warming. Net Zero will be a beacon to bring together best-in-class companies to eliminate domestic pollution, which should have a global impact.”

Working in tandem

These best-in-class companies are expected to collaborate as part of the agreement, but are generally working independently. The mills say they are open to further sharing and support: “We’re not necessarily working together, but we would love to,” explains Faryal Sadiq, head of sustainability at Interloop. “Most of these solutions and technologies will be the same, and instead of all of us working separately and reinventing the wheel or arriving at the same situation in a sub-optimal way, we might as well pool resources and achieve it together.”

Interloop launched with 10 knitting machines in 1992, growing to employ more than 24,000. Its jeans-making division in Lahore has a capacity of over 500,000 pieces per month. To meet its targets, a big factor will be switching as much fuel to renewable as possible, even if it is more expensive. It has added solar panels and will phase out coal by 2025. It is looking at phased heat recovery, improving processes as well as changing “the culture” around sustainability, for instance “whether someone turns off the light when they leave their office, and not wasting water”, explains Ms Sadiq. “We realise these ambitious, lofty goals are nearly impossible for us to achieve if we all don’t get together: industry, academia, scientific experts and regulators.”

“We are in this together,” agrees Ms Jamil from Artistic Milliners, which hosted the first in-person Net Zero Pakistan meeting in March. “It’s either all of us who survive and come out of the climate crisis stronger, or all of us will suffer.”

Government support

Many point to an encouraging stance from the government on climate action, with initiatives such as Clean Green Pakistan and Billion Tree Tsunami, but there is a long way to go. There are some programmes for financing green technologies, but the denim makers generally wish more funding or fiscal incentives were available, either within the country or from international bodies. Of all the signatories that Inside Denim spoke to, none has received financial support from the government, although AGI’s Ahmed Javed says his company is “constantly lobbying to do so”.
Meeting the globally agreed targets without help will be challenging, agrees Mr Saleemi. “There will be technology and resource limitations for developing countries like Pakistan, so at some stage – and the sooner the better – the government has to play its part in achieving this goal because it may not be easy for an industry to achieve this target within its own limited resources.”

There should also be better legislation around renewable energy bonds and certificates, agrees Ms Saddiq, “making it easier for companies who are willing to pay extra to achieve more green energy”.

“As part of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, the developed countries agreed to provide $100 billion in annual assistance to developing countries until 2020,” adds Mr Javed. “But an independent review last December estimated that only a fraction of that assistance materialised. As the developing world struggles to deal with the economic costs of the pandemic, this support is even more critical for pushing the climate agenda forward.”

Realistic target?

As to whether 2050 is a realistic target, the mills admit there will be challenges, but all have set out frameworks and plans. “It’s the question of a generation as to whether we can achieve it,” says Ms Sadiq. “If we don’t limit emissions by 2050, there will be irreversible changes. However, I think with collective efforts, it is possible.”

Many of these suppliers are leading by example, dramatically upgrading and investing in new technologies that they know will be vital to secure the business of global fashion companies. In many ways, they are the ones that bear the brunt of targets: brands often set them and gain kudos, but for the most part, it is the suppliers that must invest large sums of money and implement change. After the initial investments, many new systems can lead to cost savings over the longer term, but Pakistani suppliers’ proactive approaches should serve as an example, and increasing collaboration between competitors could be the driver needed for country-wide change.

“Sustainability is not just a business case, it is a corporate responsibility,” concludes Mr Saleemi. “It is about giving back to our community, our country and the whole world. Even one step forward counts. If we all collectively take one step forward, we have the ability to change the world.”

Artistic Milliners owns Artistic Energy, which supplies renewable energy to the national grid. The company’s 50-megawatt wind farm is based in Jhimpir, also the site of Pakistan’s first wind power project.  
Photo: Artistic Milliners

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