Textile sector seeks shared sustainability costs

Textile sector seeks shared sustainability costs

LAHORE (August 23, 2026): Pakistan’s textile industry needs a shared approach to sustainability costs if it wants to protect its competitiveness in international markets, industry experts, policymakers and energy specialists said during a national stakeholder dialogue in Lahore.

The participants stressed that global brands, Pakistani manufacturers and governments must work together to meet rising environmental, energy and compliance requirements instead of placing the entire financial burden on manufacturers.

The discussion took place at “Currents of Changes: Textile Compliance, Shared Responsibility, and Pakistan’s Power Market Transition,” organised by Alternate Development Services (ADS). The event brought together representatives from the textile sector, regulators, research institutions, energy experts and policymakers to examine the challenges facing Pakistan’s export-oriented industries.

National Grid Company Chairman Dr Fiaz Chaudhary said Pakistan’s power sector had undergone several major structural changes over the years, including the unbundling of WAPDA, the establishment of NTDC, its subsequent transition towards the National Grid Company (NGC), and the emergence of the Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO).

He said successive reforms had failed to fully resolve fundamental problems within the power sector, attributing some of the shortcomings to weak institutional planning, declining emphasis on merit and a lack of specialised expertise in key decision-making positions.

According to Dr Chaudhary, around 70 per cent of distribution companies were performing in line with international standards, while governance and management issues continued to affect the remaining 30 per cent.

Dr Chaudhary described the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) as an important development that could help Pakistan establish a more competitive wholesale electricity market.

ADS CEO Amjad Nazeer said Pakistan’s textile and apparel industry was facing mounting pressure from international buyers over environmental standards, carbon emissions, energy efficiency and sustainable production.

He said manufacturers were already struggling with the cost of adopting new technologies, securing financing and meeting increasingly demanding environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements.

Nazeer said the **Shared Transition Responsibility Movement (STRM)** aimed to promote a model under which international brands and manufacturers would share responsibility for the transition towards cleaner and more sustainable production.

NEPRA Director General Licensing Imtiaz Hussain Baloch highlighted the complexity of policymaking in the energy sector. He said regulators had to consider numerous competing variables when making decisions and warned against viewing energy-market reforms through overly simplistic solutions.

He stressed that energy policy involves difficult trade-offs and that a solution that benefits one segment of the market may create challenges for another.

APTMA Energy Adviser Asim Riaz said recent geopolitical tensions, including the Iran-US conflict, had further underlined the importance of energy security for countries such as Pakistan.

ADS Energy Transition Officer Ashfa Ashraf argued that international fashion and retail brands should contribute financially to the sustainability investments required from their Pakistani suppliers.

She said global buyers increasingly demand cleaner production, emissions reductions, improved traceability and other ESG measures from manufacturers in developing countries, but often leave suppliers to bear most of the cost.

Ashraf proposed the creation of a Pakistan Shared Transition Responsibility Consortium, which would promote joint investment by brands and manufacturers, procurement reforms, greater transparency, improved data-sharing mechanisms and sustainable production practices.

Speakers also highlighted the need to improve industrial energy efficiency and expand the use of renewable energy. LUMS Energy Institute Director Naveed Arshad said electric motors accounted for around 85 per cent of industrial electricity consumption, making motor efficiency a major opportunity for industries seeking to reduce energy costs.

Dr Syed Ali Abbas Kazmi of NUST cautioned that poorly structured CTBCM rules could create new stranded-cost risks for the power sector. He stressed the need for careful market design and regulatory planning before implementing major changed.